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Munich company Vaeridion is also pursuing a multi-engine approach for its Microliner, which it hopes will be the “world’s first electric commercial aircraft” – but those engines will power just one propeller.
The approach is designed to maximise both redundancy and efficiency, said chief technology officer Markus Kochs-Kämper at the company’s stand at the Paris Air Show in June. “If we lose one engine, we have no asymmetry, we have no yaw moment. That means the pilot will hardly realise,” he said. “It gets about maybe 20-30% reduction [in power], maybe 40%, but still enough to hold the climb rate… so this is the first time when an engine failure becomes a minor event.”
Combined with off-the-shelf sourcing of components, the team hopes that the nine-seater’s first flight in December 2027 will be a certifiable design for the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (Easa), shortening the route to commercial deployment.
Another selling point is the decision to house the batteries in the wings, said Kochs-Kämper, similar to the way aviation fuel is stored in conventional aeroplanes. “If you have the batteries in the belly or in the fuselage, and you have a gear-up landing, you have crash-worthiness issues,” he said.
Cylindrical cells will be combined with a bespoke battery management system and high-temperature packaging, being developed by a head of R&D with space sector experience.
The Microliner is designed for a range of 400km (250 miles), with reserves for an 80km (50-mile) diversion and 30 minutes of loitering. The company’s vision saw it secure an order for 10 aircraft from Belgian business jet operator ASL Airlines at the air show.
“What they see within their current business model is that they’re getting stricter and stricter regulations from the airports – what they can fly and when they can fly,” said Vaeridion chief commercial officer Taco Stouten.
“If you look at the airport regulations, all the slots and all the restrictions… it is based on those two factors – how much noise do you make as an aircraft, and how much do you pollute? Well, we pollute zero and our noise is – for an aircraft this size – eight times lower.”
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