Lyte Aviation Announces “10 Pre-Orders for 40 Seater SkyBus eVTOL, Worth EUR400 Million” from Vman Aviation Services
Lyte Aviation announced this week 10 pre-orders for its 40 seater SkyBus eVTOL from Vman Aviation Services. Worth around EUR400 million, Vman is looking to enter the Indian market. Europe-based Lyte aims to deliver the aircraft within five years.
The release states, “Vman provides customised aviation, asset management and air mobility solutions to their customers for sustainable profitability across the geographical region in India.”
Vishok Mansingh, CEO of Vman, commented, “We see the value of eVTOLs in India, but the two to four seater aircraft do not fulfil the market demand that we’re focused on. The Lyte 40 seater eVTOL immediately connected with our vision and the benefits the SkyBus offers. We want to make sure that we are the front runners of mass transit disruption in India, as is inevitably coming.”
India has the 3rd largest domestic passenger market in the world and Vman is aiming to pioneer the urban air mobility market there. Mansingh continued, “By the time, the SkyBus is ready to deliver around 2027/28, we want to be one of the first companies that access this mass Indian market. At present, there are 1.5 million passengers traveling by train in Mumbai. So, we definitely see the value that Lyte’s 40 seater eVTOL can create.”
Lyte offers a passenger eVTOL version, the SkyBus, and a cargo variant, the SkyTruck, that has a 4.5 tonne payload capability. Referred to as “a giant drone”, it can deliver both passengers and cargo.
The LA-44 SkyBus and complementary LA-44C SkyTruck are the accumulation of three years’ R&D. The release says, “The result is a game-changing, vertical take-off and landing vehicle, designed to be five times more fuel efficient and less noisier than current helicopters.”
Lyte’s SkyBus offers a range of 620 miles with a max speed of 190 mph. The release continues, “The LA-44 has a tandem tilt-wing design, disrupting other futuristic looking next-gen designs. A full-scale prototype is being planned within 24 months, and serial production within 5–6 years. No other VTOL product currently even comes feasibly close to LYTE’s SkyBus with its 40 passenger capacity.”
The SkyBus design features “two separate propulsion systems, one electric and powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the other turbine powered by jet fuel/SAF. These unique features offer the opportunity to use existing infrastructure with jet fuel or SAF refuelling stations, but also motivate the expansion of hydrogen refuelling stations at existing airports and at new vertiports.”
Freshta Farzam, Founder and CEO of Lyte, explained, “When we began this project, we knew that India was one of our main target markets. If you consider the growing congested roads, due to an ever increasing population, demand for passenger mobility and goods, especially in the mega cities, is a great place to be.”
India holds more than one seventh of the global population and offers the required advanced technology and infrastructure to be in the forefront of urban and regional aviation. The 40 seater eVTOL needs no runway, just a taking-off and landing pad of 40 x 40 metres size.
Freshta Farzam
Farzam continued, “Furthermore, the LA-44 would be honed for operation in rugged and remote operational conditions. Its unique design will enable us to tap mass transport capabilities, displacing air and land transport modalities such as buses, trains, ferries, trucks and regional airlines like it has never been done before.”
German entrepreneur, Farzam, believes that a bold mindset and sharp focus surrounding a vision is the solution to create success. “Since our announcement of our 40 seater eVTOL, we have been approached by several companies showing interest in partnerships and pre-orders,” she explained. “We are currently in talks with some very interesting markets.”
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(Images: Lyte Aviation)
