Low emissions aircraft promises flight of the future

The future of flying has landed, in the form of a low cost, emissions-free aircraft capable of travelling 1000km non-stop with up to six people on board.

AMSL Aero team, from left: Vertiia inventor and engineer Andrew Moore, CEO Max York and COO Siobhan Lyndon. Picture: AMSL Aero

The future of flying has landed, in the form of a low cost, emissions-free aircraft capable of travelling 1000km non-stop with up to six people on board.

Invented by AMSL Aero chief engineer Andrew Moore, the Vertiia is a hydrogen hybrid, vertical take off and landing aircraft unlike almost anything else in the market.

Mr Moore said Vertiia’s range, 300km/h speed and payload capabilities put it ahead of electric vertical take off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) which were largely limited to distances of 100km to 150km before their batteries needed recharging.

The Vertiia has been more than seven years in the making, and AMSL Aero has now received orders for up to 20 from its first civilian customer, Aviation Logistics.

The charter, freight and aeromedical company was hopeful of operating the Vertiia by 2027, to do mail drops, patient transfers and passenger flights from its seven bases in Australia.

AMSL Aero chief executive Max York said it was a revolutionary aircraft with a $3m price tag.

“Because the seat mile cost is similar for five seats as it is for 500 seats, and each aircraft is so much cheaper and easier to manufacture, you can have a lot more of these flying a lot more frequently to a lot more ports,” said Mr York.

“This aircraft could economically fly between regional areas that the airlines don’t service because they can’t make money on them.”

Integrating liquid hydrogen meant Vertiia was longer in the design process but the advantages over solely battery-powered aircraft were worth it, said Mr York.

“Hydrogen is a whole different animal to integrate into the aircraft and one thing Andrew did was start with a blank sheet of paper,” he said.

“The result was a box design which is extremely efficient and allows you to have two wings and eight motors, and hydrogen wing pods that are away from the passengers, making it easy to refuel.”

AMSL Aero's Vertiia, the world's first passenger capable hydrogen Vertical Take Off and Landing Aircraft, developed in Australia. Picture: AMSL Aero

Chief operating officer Siobhan Lyndon said Vertiia promised to be a “game changer” for aviation with AMSL Aero already looking at larger models.

“The design lends itself to scale, so there’s the ability to grow the size of the aircraft, the speed of the aircraft and the range of the aircraft which will ultimately allow it to compete with existing larger aircraft, where we can pressurise it to fly higher and carry more payload,” Ms Lyndon said.

“Replacing smaller fixed wing aircraft is probably the starting point but in the long term, we could make the 737 obsolete.”

Similar to Teslas, Vertiia aircraft required minimal maintenance, reducing operating costs to a fraction of what airlines and aviation companies currently paid.

“The cost of operating this aircraft is about a quarter of what it costs to operate a helicopter but at half the purchase price or less, twice the speed and twice the range for the same payload, so it’s very compelling,” said Mr York.

Aviation Logistics directors Mark Wardrop and Matthew Kline said the capabilities of Vertiia were beyond anything else they had come across in a search for an environmentally friendly aircraft for their multifaceted business.

Mr Wardrop said with a fleet of about 70 aircraft, the deadline of 2050 to be “net zero” meant they had to start to embrace new technologies.

“We want to be a company that’s looking forward and the idea of partnering up with a local manufacturer was very appealing,” he said.

“We think Australia is ideally suited for this emerging technology and we’re well placed to do trials and adjust to this type of aircraft taking to the skies.”

The year ahead would see AMSL Aero continue to fly Vertiia before beginning the certification process with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

Providing all went to play, Aviation Logistics would have Vertiia in the air in 2027, most likely operating out of its Alice Springs base in the first instance.

“If they come in 2027, we’re ready to go,” said Mr Kline.

“The greatest challenge is the regulator (CASA) keeping up with the pace of change expected in the next five to 10 years. It’s going to need resources to regulate all of this emerging technology and to manage the airspace.”