Manta Aircraft “Unveils Full-Scale Mock-Up of ANN 6 at November Zhuhai Airshow” 

Two and a half weeks after China’s Zhuhai Air­show (Novem­ber 12th-17th), and Man­ta Aircraft’s dis­play of its full-scale mock-up of its new hybrid-elec­tric long range HEV/STOL ANN 6, the com­pa­ny released a press release for the West cel­e­brat­ing its “land­mark moment for Advanced Air Mobil­i­ty (AAM).” “This inno­v­a­tive air­craft,” says Man­ta, “sets new bench­marks for range, speed, and effi­cien­cy with­in the region­al air mobil­i­ty sec­tor.”

The images are impres­sive.

The release explains, “The ANN 6 is a mul­ti­pur­pose, six-seater air vehi­cle offer­ing com­fort­able space for 1 pilot and 5 pas­sen­gers, for per­son­al mobil­i­ty, busi­ness trav­el, med­ical and car­go trans­port oper­a­tions. Com­bin­ing heli­copter ver­sa­til­i­ty with air­plane effi­cien­cy, this air­craft sup­ports both Ver­ti­cal and Short Take­off and Land­ing (VTOL & STOL), enabling oper­a­tions any­where, from air­ports to heli­pads to unpre­pared remote areas.” 

It con­tin­ues, “With a range of 300 km for VTOL oper­a­tion and more than 1,000 km using a short airstrip for STOL oper­a­tion, it offers unmatched mis­sion flex­i­bil­i­ty, regard­less of ground infra­struc­ture. Its large radius allows extend­ed mis­sions with­out refu­el­ing, while bat­ter­ies are recharged in flight, mak­ing it ide­al for sce­nar­ios like out­back, off­shore and inter-region­al oper­a­tions. Per­fect for both urban and remote loca­tions, it deliv­ers supe­ri­or per­for­mance with min­i­mal reliance on ground sup­port.”

Under var­i­ous head­ings the report explains the ANN 6 incor­po­rates an advanced hybrid propul­sion sys­tem, boast­ing eight duct­ed fans, four of them tiltable and posi­tioned in the wings. They are opti­mised for ver­ti­cal lift, while the winged air­craft design enables effi­cient and high-speed cruise, plac­ing it at the fore­front of the eVTOL and eSTOL air­craft per­for­mance. 

ANN 6 Inte­ri­or

“This con­fig­u­ra­tion not only enhances maneu­ver­abil­i­ty in diverse envi­ron­ments but also achieves speeds and ranges that exceed con­ven­tion­al eVTOL air taxi capa­bil­i­ties,” says the release. “Hence mak­ing it suit­able for region­al and inter-region­al oper­a­tions. Its hybrid pow­er­train is designed to offer sig­nif­i­cant flex­i­bil­i­ty: bat­ter­ies recharge dur­ing flight, ensur­ing min­i­mal down­time and max­imis­ing mis­sion readi­ness.”

The ANN 6 is ide­al for a vari­ety of sce­nar­ios, includ­ing remote areas, inter­con­nec­tion of small­er cities with no air­ports close by, remote area sup­port, off­shore logis­tics, and emer­gency ser­vices, where tra­di­tion­al air­craft may fall short due to infra­struc­ture lim­i­ta­tions while being more afford­able than com­pa­ra­ble heli­copters. 

The full-size mod­el offers the first oppor­tu­ni­ty to enter the air­craft, sit on the seats and look at the pre­lim­i­nary inte­ri­ors and fur­nish­ings. Made from from nap­pa leather, Alcan­tara and a car­bon fibre blend, the cab­in offers ele­gance and bespoke cus­tomi­sa­tion options, includ­ing colour palettes, seat embroi­dery and ambi­ent light­ing, as well as ample stor­age space and state-of-the-art instru­ments. 

Key Ben­e­fits Overview

Long Endurance & Range 

The hybrid propul­sion sys­tem allows anout­stand­ing range for region­al and inter­ci­ty flights with­out recharg­ing stops.

High Cruis­ing Speed 

High cruis­ing speed enables fast com­mut­ing on medi­um and long dis­tances.

Afford­able oper­at­ing costs 

The hybrid propul­sion sys­tem allows for an opti­mized propul­sion sys­tem with a small gas tur­bine and light weight bat­tery; the air­craft is designed to min­i­mize main­te­nance costs. Bat­tery life cycle costs are min­i­mized.

Flex­i­ble Mis­sions 

Con­fig­u­ra­tion flex­i­bil­i­ty adapts to dif­fer­ent mis­sions and oper­a­tors (sen­sors, onboard sys­tems, etc.)

Very low infra­struc­ture needs 

No need for bat­tery recharg­ing infra­struc­ture. Abil­i­ty to oper­ate from unpre­pared fields.

Eco-friend­ly 

Oper­at­ing on SAF (Sus­tain­able Avi­a­tion Fuel). Pre­pared to adopt a zero-emis­sion hydro­gen pow­er plant.

Easy to Deploy 

Mod­u­lar design allows quick dis­as­sem­bly and assem­bly for trans­porta­tion and repair: Wing, Canard, Fuse­lage, Pow­er Pack Unit.

Cus­tomis­able 

Tai­lored equip­ment and con­fig­u­ra­tion accord­ing to cus­tomers’ specs and needs. Cus­tomised liv­ery and inte­ri­ors.

The Man­ta Air­craft Team

Dimen­sions of the Pre­lim­i­nary Design

: Seats: 5 pax + 1 pilot

: Length: 12.30 m (40.35 ft)

: Wingspan: 12.10 m (39.69 ft)

: Height: 2.75 m (9.02 ft)

: Emp­ty Weight 1’740 kg (3’836 lb)

: Pay­load: 500 kg (1’100 lb) in addi­tion to the pilot

: MTOW VTOL oper­a­tion: 2’520 kg (5’555 lb)

: MTOW STOL oper­a­tion: 3’020 kg (6’658 lb)

Per­for­mance

: Cruis­ing Speed: 240 km/h (130 kts)

: Dash Speed: > 330 km/h (178 kts)

: Endurance: > 1 h (VTOL) | > 4 h (STOL)

: Mis­sion Capa­bil­i­ties

: VTOL/STOVL/STOL

The Air­show Pub­lic Gaz­ing at the ANN 6

Key Sys­tems

Propul­sion

: Ser­i­al hybrid sys­tem (elec­tric + eco-fuel)

: 8 elec­tric duct­ed fans

Safe­ty

: Crash­wor­thy design

: Hybrid propul­sion: redun­dant source of pow­er (tur­bine & bat­tery)

: Dis­trib­uted propul­sion for increased redun­dan­cy

Con­trol

: Redun­dant full fly-by-wire con­trol sys­tem

: HOTAS (Hands On Throt­tle-And-Stick)

: New advanced HMI (Human Machine Inter­face)

For more infor­ma­tion

https://www.mantaaircraft.com

(Images: Man­ta Air­craft)

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