VTOL Cargo Design Flies

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4×4 concept

A VTOL aircraft designed to pick up and carry a standard 20-foot cargo container — like the ones carried by trucks and ships — is in the works at a start-up company in the UK. Thorsten Reinhardt, founder and managing director of 4X4 Aviation, based at London Ashford Airport, flew a small scale model of his design briefly last week and said a full-size prototype with a 50-foot wingspan could be completed in the next few years. Reinhardt said the company is developing an electric-gas hybrid powerplant that will be a “multi-stage turbine with a very high power-to-weight ratio.”

The VTOL is meant to provide cargo service in parts of the world with limited infrastructure for trucks. The belly of the aircraft would contain an open hold sized to fit the standard containers, for easy loading and off-loading. Reinhardt said he’d like to produce about 30 aircraft per month starting in about three years, and sell them for about $611,000 each. He’s currently seeking funding to continue the project, with an estimated budget of $5.6 million.

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