This Octocopter Shows How The Future Helicopters Might Look Like

There is a common understanding that the future of transport will make more use of the airspace. Hence, there are groups working upon shaping this idea into a reality. That being said, there is no set form given to the notion as of now. Rotors or wings? Electric or fossil fuel motors? Autonomous tech or remote controlled? The concerned industry faces a long list of similar questions, spending billions of dollars in finding the right answers.

From a conventional viewpoint though, a door-to-door connectivity making use of the airspace would require a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicle. Better yet, it should be powered by an electric motor. And if we were to make any progress on the existing helicopters for this, it would surely involve compacting the loud and space-demanding rotors.

But, enough of the idealistic demands. Since we are in pursuit of progress, we shall take the next best thing to perfect for now. SureFly, seems an amazing fit for this.

A brainchild of Cincinnati-based Workhorse Group, SureFly is dubbed as a ¡°hybrid-electric eVTOL multi-copter¡± by the company. One look at it and you can easily spot all the technical adjectives used in this definition. What looks like a giant drone is, in reality, an 'octocopter' with a very helicopter-y feel to it. Some might even call it the future of helicopters, more for transit than defence or like purposes.

SureFly

The ¡°giant drone¡± part comes from the four arms and eight contra-rotating rotors that propel SureFly. It is even built to be like a drone for all practical purposes, making it easy to fly using a fly-by-wire system and a center-mounted joystick control.

As for its capability, SureFly is able to carry two people or one person and cargo (around 220 kgs payload) for a range of more than 110 kms at a speed of 110 km/h both during the day and the night. It also keeps its own weight in check, being made of carbon fibre and using thin plastic seats for the same.

SureFly

There is, however, another deviation from the idealistic concept that we just pondered on. With the ¡°Hybrid¡± tag, the octocopter runs on a fossil fuel engine. The reason for this is highlighted by an engineer, that the batteries to date cannot provide the required energy density for the copter. Fair enough.

Once you are in the air, there is a peak cause of concern for safety, of both the flying and the not. For this, SureFly uses a ballistic parachute that is designed to bring the aircraft, with the passengers, back to safety in case of an emergency.

SureFly

Workhorse recently put the eVTOL aircraft on display at a private home in Los Angeles. Though it is expected to be ready only by 2021, the company has started taking pre-orders, putting an expected price tag of $200,000 on it. That, for the ¡®first hybrid-electric eVTOL multi-copter accepted by the FAA for the Type Certification process¡¯ as per the company.

SureFly

The way we see it, SureFly will be acting as the framework for similar aircraft in the near future. It matches the requirements for door-to-door connectivity. It is easy to fly (as claimed). It is lightweight and delivers enough range for an in-city commute. In many ways, it seems to be a perfect fit for Uber¡¯s Elevate concept. A welcome upgrade, however, would be an increased payload and an electric motor.