7 December 2021
It’s weird, radical and doesn’t appear to follow the rules of aerodynamics but French startup Ascendance Flight Technologies is planning to have a flying version of its proposed vertical take-off and landing 5-seat staggered wing biplane ready for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Ascendance calls the aircraft ‘ATEA’. The Toulouse-based company says ATEA will have a range of 400km, with carbon emissions reduced by 80% and noise pollution divided by four. Production is scheduled for 2025.
ATEA has a hybrid-electric propulsion system with eight rotors integrated into two fixed wings, known as ‘fan-in-wing’, and two horizontal propellers for forward flight
“We set-up Ascendance Flight Technologies with a very clear vision of what we wanted to achieve: to accelerate transition towards green aviation thanks to hybrid technology,” said Jean-Christophe Lambert, co-founder and CEO.
The hybrid system patented by Ascendance is called STERNA. It has an electric engine powered by the merging of two energy sources: combustion and electric (battery).
Over time, the company is planning to phase out the combustion energy source and replace it with new sources of cleaner energy such as hydrogen or Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
“ATEA will soon exist in the form of a full-scale prototype and will go into testing phase in 2023,” continued Lambert.
“With help from our financial partners we are now experiencing vigorous development. We are actively recruiting, running test and trial programmes and we are steadily moving towards our 2025 certification objective.”
