US air taxi developer Eve Mobility revealed on 21 July the first full-scale prototype of its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, a remotely operated variant the company is pushing to get off the ground this year.
Embraer-backed Eve completed assembly of the prototype and celebrated the achievement with an employees-only ceremony a couple of weeks ago, chief executive Johann Bordais told reporters during a briefing ahead of Farnborough air show.
”This is a full-scale prototype vehicle,” he says. “It will be piloted remotely from a truck; it’s designed so we can test the hover, the transition and also the cruise flight… It will increase our knowledge when it comes to the physical phenomenon [during] those different phases of flight.”
The windowless, carbon fibre-coated aircraft features eight lift propellers and one pusher propeller for forward flight, in addition to a U-shaped empennage.
The test asset will be used to validate the aircraft’s flight characteristics, measure its acoustic profile and inform the flight controls of subsequent production-conforming prototypes.
Bordais says that the company intends to assemble five conforming prototypes that will be used in for-certification flights. Assembly of that small fleet is scheduled to begin later this year at Embraer’s facility in Sao Jose dos Campos and continue into early 2026.
Company executives acknowledge that achieving first flight with its newly unveiled prototype in 2024 will be challenging but maintain that Eve is still aiming to pass that milestone before year’s end.
Eve also disclosed that Diehl Aviation will design the interior of the eventual production aircraft, and that ASE will supply the eVTOL’s power distribution system. The company has now identified 100% of its primary suppliers.
”ASE has consolidated experience in design, development, integration, production and support of electrical power systems for multiple types of aircraft,” Eve says.
Recent rounds of fundraising – including $95.6 million in fresh financing from multiple investors – have positioned Eve to continue its eVTOL development programme for the next several years, with Bordais proclaiming that the company is now “fully funded through 2027”.
”Whatever happens, we have money – we have the cash,” he says. “We’ll make this happen and we’ll certify this vehicle.”
