Concept Integrity eVTOL completes successful second test flight
Carbon fiber prototype, developed by partners Umiles Next and Tecnalia, took to the skies in its first free flight intended to determine its feasibility operating in urban environments.
Concept Integrity eVTOL. Photo Credit: Umiles Next, Tenalia
Concept Integrity is an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed by Umiles Next (rebranded to Crisalion Mobility, Madrid, Spain) that is primarily comprised of carbon fiber and equipped with FlyFree technology developed by research partner Tecnalia (Derio, Biscay, Spain). On Oct 26, the aircraft successfully took to the skies over Jaén, Spain. Following its recent flight in Toulouse, this was the first free flight completed by the aircraft in Spain, as part of Urban Space for Urban Air Mobility (USPACE4UAM), a European demonstration project intended to safely integrate mixed operations, including manned and unmanned vehicles, into urban settings.
The test flights took place at the ATLAS Test Flight Centre in Villacarrillo, Jaén, which undertakes testing of unmanned aviation technologies and systems, and light and tactical remotely piloted systems. These flights enable Usmiles Next and Tecnalia to run further tests on the eVTOL prototype, paving the way for the future integration of the air taxi into urban airspace at an estimated 2028 date.
The Concept Integrity was flanked at the testing event by other unmanned aircraft to prove that this new traffic type can be safely and seamlessly integrated into urban areas in the near future. The companies participating in the USPACE4UAM project include Honeywell (Charlotte, N.C., U.S.), the project leader, Vertical Aerospace (Bristol, U.K.), Catec (Charlottesville, Va., U.S.) and Enaire (Madrid, Spain).
According to partners, the flight was the first time Concept Integrity has flown in open air space in Spain. Its second flight took place in September 2022 as part of an initiative by the TindAIR consortium, which rolls out large-scale urban air mobility (UAM) test flights to test and demonstrate effective management of air traffic using unmanned aircraft in urban settings. The air taxi’s next stop for further testing is Lugo.
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