Pegasus Hybrid-Electric VTol promises massive range

PEGASUS HYBRID-ELECTRIC VTOL

PROMISES MASSIVE RANGE

| BY NIKITA VIVEK PAWAR

Superyacht designer Steve Kozloff has designed an unconventional next-gen aviation with a twin-prop VTOL aircraft that can take off and land both conventionally and vertically offering a mu ch wider range of destinations. With a massive range of 1,380-mile (2,222-km) range, Pegasus VTOL adorns a very helicopterish four-seat cabin with a set of fat wings, each fitted with a large tiltcapable propeller, 11 ft (3.3 m) in diameter. The 7,500 lbs. of thrust developed from the two 132” propellers offer 1 g+ acceleration, makes it possible to achieve flying speed within 5 seconds while only using 400 ft. of runway. Also, landing rollout would be very short due to the full reversing propellers.

“I wanted to design the simplest possible design and still have good performance and comfort. The Pegasus is not pressurized, it is not certified, and it will be in the experimental category.” Said Steve Kozloff.

Pegasus features a unique turbine electric power system. The single PT6A-67R turbine engine powers a generator and the generator powers the two electric motors on the wings. This system makes the power transmission from the engine to the rotor less complicated and increases reliability by avoiding the need for combining transmission, driveshafts, and rotor transmissions. These electric motors make around 700 horsepower, and together. The propulsion system would be powered by a generator, spun by a Pratt & Whitney engine capable of making 1,424 shaft horsepower. The aircraft would carry some 250 gals (946 L) of fuel, giving you that colossal range estimate. The aircraft would weight 3,300 lb (1,497 kg) and 6,000 lb (2,722 kg) fully loaded, leaving plenty of room in the weight budget for cargo. Vertical takeoff mode can be very practical in many scenarios. However, in some situations, such as dusty dirt fields, powdered snow-covered fields, and proximity of light aircraft; would make vertical landing or takeoff impractical and not appreciated.

“There is a significant market for experimental aircraft. By keeping the Pegasus experimental it will reduce the cost and feasibility greatly. I estimate it would cost 6 million USD to produce the Pegasus in the experimental category, vs hundreds of millions to develop a certified version.”, explained the designer. The aircraft can fly four people i.e. one pilot and three passengers.

With retractable landing gear, it’s capable of conventional takeoff and landing, and Kozloff says it’s capable of reaching takeoff speed within 400 ft (122 m) of the runway. It’d pull up quickly upon landing, too, reversing its props to get it stopped in a short distance. It promises a very quick cruise speed of over 345 mph (556 km/h) and an unimaginable top speed. Kozloff says the aircraft’s “stunning looks” help the Pegasus live up to its nomenclature as a “mythical white stallion.”

So, the Pegasus is a feasible project that could get certifiable, and probably out-weigh other eVTOL competitors in its class for range, speed, and payload, but it’s a notoriously difficult and expensive design to produce, it offers no propulsion redundancy, and it runs on fossil fuel. The founder believes that with a serious fund team the Pegasus VTOL can be constructed within two years.