As tempting as battery-powered electric aircraft are, the limitless possibilities for flight can only be drawn from this or that fuel. Speed, range, carrying capacity - all this is sharply reduced when switching to batteries. Fuel cells can become a reasonable alternative to batteries for electric vehicles. They do not have harmful emissions and are able to provide impressive power and duration.
On the transition to a power plant powered by hydrogen fuel cells Israeli company Urban Aeronautics, which city ββair taxi CityHawk. CityHawk decided to use HyPoint fuel cells. With fuel cells, the CityHawk air taxi appears to be a promising solution that could appear on the streets of metropolitan areas in the foreseeable future.
It is important to note that CityHawk is not built from scratch. This six-seat vehicle is based on the fuel cell-powered Cormorant drone designed by Urban Aeronautics subsidiary Tactical Robotics. The Cormorant drone is based on the technology of tunnel propellers of the Israeli company Fancraft and has been tested for about two years as a military unmanned truck and a machine for chemical treatment of agricultural plantations. In other words, the design of the CityHawk is basically already worked out (below is the Cormorant flight video).
The CityHawk air taxi has no external propellers and is slightly larger than an SUV. Vertical and horizontal flights are provided by two blocks of fans: one is in the front, the other is in the back of the device. The screws are enclosed in cylindrical protective casings, which also gives an increase in lifting force.
Source: 3dnews.ru