After a year of testing, Rotor X Aircraft has finally released video of the new ultralight eVTOL, Dragon Personal Air Vehicle from a flight test in the Arizona desert. This electric ultralight aircraft comes as a quick-build kit, doesn't require a pilot's license in the U.S. to operate, and is priced at just under $90k. The video, taken in early 2023 during flight testing of a DRAGON pre-production prototype, does not show the ballistic chute safety cage. The safety cage will be integrated before the manned flights which are expected to begin in May.
The Dragon Personal Air Vehicle comes with safety features such as a ballistic parachute cage, auto hover, auto takeoff and landing, and redundant independent motors for its 8 propellers. Dragon flies for 20 minutes for pilots weighing up to 250 lbs (113 kg) and has swappable battery packs that recharge in less than two hours.
With over a year of testing, Rotor X Aircraft is ready to publicly display the Dragon this summer in Oshkosh for EAA's 2023 AirVenture. Testing and improvements on Dragon are ongoing and manned-flight videos will be released in June 2023.
Under the FAA's Part 103 Ultralight requirements, the Dragon Personal Air Vehicle doesn't require a pilot's license in the United States. Additional safety features include helicopter landing gear, ballistic chute safety cage, redundant independent motors, power system with independent batteries controlled by redundant flight controllers, automatic takeoff and landing, hands-off return to hover and position hold. DRAGON can hover and perform a safe landing in the case of a battery, electrical, or motor failure.
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