SAMAD Aerospace completes hover testing using second prototype of its eStarling eVTOL aircraft

SAMAD Aero­space has com­plet­ed hov­er tests for the sec­ond pro­to­type of its eStar­ling eVTOL air­craft.

Pre­vi­ous test­ing has devel­oped con­ven­tion­al take-off and land­ing of the pro­to­type. The com­pa­ny said recent teth­ered hov­er tests fol­lowed by full hov­er tests demon­strat­ed a very agile and sta­ble pro­to­type with hov­er­ing and heli­copter moves.

This month’s hov­er tests were per­formed over a crane sys­tem, and they focused on the val­i­da­tion of the flight con­trol sys­tem in hov­er­ing mode.  The air­craft con­sumed 65 per cent of the avail­able pow­er to take off and hov­er with a healthy pow­er sur­plus for adverse weath­er con­di­tions.

Dr. Seyed Mohseni, CEO of SAMAD Aero­space, said: “The impor­tance of these recent flight tests is the ini­tial val­i­da­tion of autopi­lot that has been devel­oped by the SAMAD Aero­space team.”

Designed for inter­ci­ty trans­port, the eStar­ling air­craft will com­bine a helicopter’s ver­ti­cal abil­i­ty to take off and land from almost any­where, with the speed and range of a busi­ness jet.  

With a semi blend­ed wing body design and pow­ered by sus­tain­able avi­a­tion fuel, SAMAD Aero­space has said its eStar­ling will be the fastest hybrid elec­tric eVTOL air­craft in the world with the longest range. With a cruis­ing speed of 300mph and a range of 800 miles, it will trans­port pas­sen­gers from heli­pad to heli­pad.

Avail­able to pre-order now for deliv­ery in 2026, the eStar­ling aims to reduce total trav­el time by util­is­ing loca­tions much clos­er to the customer’s point of depar­ture and des­ti­na­tion, includ­ing remote loca­tions.