TOP > Intervew
Arnaud Coville Interview#2
We talked about the SKYDRIVE’s detailed specifications and its market position in the previous session. In this session, we will ask him about SKYDRIVE’s architecture, characteristics and our outlook for the future.
→Arnaud Coville Interview#1
– Could you tell us about the structure of SkyDrive eVTOL?
Regarding the specific SKYDRIVE architecture, it is safety driven, following FAA rules or anticipated FAA rules. We expect that JCAB will listen to the experience gathered by the US authorities that have many eVTOL candidates and applicants and more than 10 years of discussion on the eVTOL regulation.
Let’s look at one unique design feature of our eVTOL “SKYDRIVE”: the rotor dome design.
It has the following benefits:
Controllability: You can control the aircraft to turn much more efficiently because there is an angle of the rotor.
Safety: If the bird hits a rotor, there will be pieces of the rotor flying off. They will fly over and never touch other parts to damage. This guarantees that you do not have a cascading effect on the failure driving to an accident.
Comfort: In hover, you can have a differential thrust between both sides and thus go laterally with less tilt. This will improve the comfort of the passengers.
– Could you tell us about the flight characteristics of the SKYDRIVE?
The aircraft is designed according to the safety concepts of large aircrafts, for instance redundant dissimilar flight control systems. The development is following the aircraft design process in use in the aerospace industry. This will ensure that the SKYDRIVE will be safe and complying with the certification rules. Without certification, you cannot sell any aircraft. And to certify, we also have to use aerospace grade equipment.
– Could you tell us about the development team?
We have a team of experienced aerospace engineers, mixed with some innovative spirits of the drone industry and people straight from university. We also have some automotive engineers that have experience of cost control and high volume production.
– What is your outlook on SkyDrive?
We have attracted world-renowned suppliers that bring competencies in their respective fields. They have recognized that SkyDrive has a successful strategy.
The product is well positioned to be successful on the market, the technical definition is feasible with the technology existing today. The aircraft is designed to be upgraded easily when new battery technology is available. The team of professionals and suppliers that we have gathered is strong and will deliver a product with a great future.
(*1) ROYAL AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY, “eVTOLs – set to be big in Japan?,” 10 Nov 2023
