Textron eAviation said it plans to achieve key milestones for its advanced air mobility programs in 2024.
It was mid-2022 when Kansas-based Textron announced plans to revive its Nexus program after putting the hybrid-electric VTOL project on hold in 2021. If the company achieves its timeline, the Nexus is expected to be type certified around 2030 — more than a decade after Bell originally introduced the concept in 2019.
With a projected range of about 100 nautical miles (185 kilometers) and top speeds of 120 knots (225 kilometers per hour), the Nexus design includes fixed- and tiltrotors — similar in some ways to the design of other eVTOL models coming to market, but stands apart in other ways, mainly in size.
With a maximum takeoff weight of 8,000 pounds (3,630 kilograms), it’s much heavier than any other eVTOL aircraft currently in development. With a comparatively-large payload capacity, the Nexus will be able to take on many tasks that the smaller eVTOLs can’t, but still carry out typical missions like passenger transport, with room for four passengers plus a pilot.
It was mid-2022 when Kansas-based Textron announced plans to revive its Nexus program after putting the hybrid-electric VTOL project on hold in 2021. If the company achieves its timeline, the Nexus is expected to be type certified around 2030 — more than a decade after Bell originally introduced the concept in 2019.
With a projected range of about 100 nautical miles (185 kilometers) and top speeds of 120 knots (225 kilometers per hour), the Nexus design includes fixed- and tiltrotors — similar in some ways to the design of other eVTOL models coming to market, but stands apart in other ways, mainly in size.
With a maximum takeoff weight of 8,000 pounds (3,630 kilograms), it’s much heavier than any other eVTOL aircraft currently in development. With a comparatively-large payload capacity, the Nexus will be able to take on many tasks that the smaller eVTOLs can’t, but still carry out typical missions like passenger transport, with room for four passengers plus a pilot.
