Eve Achieves First In-Flight Activation of Pusher Propulsion System
Eve Air Mobility a leader in advanced air mobility, announced that its engineering prototype has completed its first partial transition flight, marking an important milestone in the development and testing of the company’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The flight involved activation of the aircraft’s rear pusher propeller, initiating the transition phase from vertical to wing-borne flight. During the test, the aircraft reached a stabilized speed of 27 knots and a maximum ground speed of 30 knots, with the pusher activated up to 1,200 RPM.
The flight lasted 3 minutes and 9 seconds, covered approximately 0.84 nautical miles, and reached a maximum height of 90 feet above ground level.
“This first partial transition flight is an important milestone in Eve’s development journey,” said Johann Bordais, chief executive officer of Eve Air Mobility. “Successfully activating the pusher propulsion system in flight validates a key aspect of our aircraft design and brings us one step closer to delivering safe, efficient and scalable air mobility solutions.”
This transition phase is one of the most critical aspects of eVTOL flight, focusing on the shift of the aircraft moving from vertical lift to forward flight. Completion of this initial partial transition test advances Eve’s work to expand the aircraft’s flight envelope and validate system performance.
“This flight successfully demonstrated pusher activation in flight and validated key performance targets at the start of the transition phase,” said Marcelo Basile, head of engineering at Eve Air Mobility. “The data collected will support continued envelope expansion as we advance toward higher speeds and more complex transition flight testing.”
Eve’s flight test engineering team is conducting ongoing loads and structural analyses to support future envelope expansion. After the current flight-testing program, the company plans to perform datalink testing to validate radio link performance and support operations at speeds up to 50 knots.
Over the coming weeks, Eve expects to progressively expand the aircraft’s airspeed envelope, including additional flights with pusher activation as part of the broader transition flight-test campaign.
