eVTOLs: The JAUNT Journey

Full electric VTOL with a carrying capacity of 1(pilot) + 4 (passengers). Has got a top speed of over 273 km/hr and a range of over 190 kms. The flying bird has been in the making for about 2 decades and holds several ‘1st’s in the world. It was the first rotorcraft to break the Mu-1 barrier in 2005 and has been well documented by the Smithsonian channel in US.

Jaunt Journey is currently being developed in collaboration with L&T Technology with a large group of Aerospace engineers spread over India, US and Canada. The 3rd generation of the Rotorcraft is expected to achieve it’s certification by 2026 and will be working with TCAA (Transport Canada Aviation Authority). The Electric batteries of the aircrafts are being developed by BAE Systems while their Aircraft avionics are from Garmin. At this point of time – Jaunt’s identified Garmin’s G300H as it’s avionics package. This may further get upgraded by the time the aircraft goes into production in 2024 onwards.

A different version of JAUNT – MAV55 which uses similar technologies has been shortlisted by US Airforce AFWERX for it’s High Speed VTOL program. The AFWERX program saw over 210 participants which were further shortlisted to 35 OEMs by the US Airforce. At the beginning of the year 2022, the USAF further down selected the OEMs to the top 8 based on their technology and capability to deliver the aircraft to the specifications of USAF.

The Rotorcraft is competitively priced to be lower than the cost of a Helicopter. Not just that, the Rotorcraft’s operational cost is estimated to be less than 35% lower than a Light Helicopter such as Bell B 505. This includes cost savings due to the aircraft being 100% electric and with lesser moving parts than a helicopter.

In terms of safety, the Jaunt Journey is expected to maintain a very high safety parameter as much as a Boeing or an Airbus commercial jetliner.