Eve completes eVTOL wind tunnel testing
Eve Air Mobility has announced completion of wind tunnel testing of its eVTOL aircraft.
The testing, conducted at a wind tunnel near Lucerne, Switzerland, used a scale model of Eve’s eVTOL which is planned to enter service in 2026. The main objective was to investigate and validate how components including fuselage, rotors, wing, tail and other surfaces would perform in flight.
“The completion of wind tunnel testing is an important engineering milestone as we continue the development of our eVTOL,” said Luiz Valentini, chief technology officer at Eve. “The information we obtained during this phase of development has helped us further refine the technical solutions of our eVTOL before committing to production tooling and conforming prototypes. Our goal is to design, produce and certify an aerodynamic and efficient eVTOL that will be used for a variety of urban air mobility missions.”
Eve’s engineering team will use the data gathered through wind tunnel testing to continue to develop the eVTOL’s control laws.
Last week, the OEM announced it remains on track to meet its entry into service target following the publication of its first quarter (Q1) financial results. Eve will confirm its selection of primary suppliers in the first half of 2023 with the first prototype to be built in H223. The first supplier selections will focus on critical systems such as motors, batteries, and propellers. Then the prototype testing campaign, scheduled to begin in 2024, should support early pre-delivery payments and the firming of orders.
