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A vertical take-off and landing aircraft first flown 60 years ago is being revived, with the aim of offering a cheaper and greener alternative to modern helicopters.
“For years we have been looking for a real, practical solution to the needs of advanced air mobility,” said Dr Seyed Mohseni, CEO and founder of UK-based ARC AeroSystems, which is developing the vehicle. “This is an already established solution that was forgotten.”
In the 1960s, a group of former engineers from aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada were developing The Avian 2/180. It was a gyroplane, a type of aircraft that debuted in the 1920s. Also known as autogyros, gyroplanes use a rotor on top for lift and a propeller at the back for forward movement — but unlike a helicopter, the top rotor isn’t powered by an engine. Instead, it’s powered by air passing through the rotor as the vehicle moves forward.
Standard gyroplanes require a runway, but the Avian 2/180 was able to launch vertically via a hopping-style take-off. Avian Aircraft developed a model certified airworthy by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), but it never entered production, and when the company failed in the 1970s the design was forgotten.
Arc AeroSystems’…