Sat, Apr 01, 2017
Company Hopes To Crack The Commuter Market
ANN April 1 Special Edition (Parody)
Robinson Helicopter has begun work on a manned, electric multirotor aircraft targeted directly at the personal commuter market.
Robinson president and Chairman Kurt Robinson sees the new aircraft as a natural extension of their helicopter line. “Everything’s about drones right now,” Robinson said. “And over in Europe and Japan, there are some interesting things that are going on in the electric-powered manned aircraft sector. We think that a made-in-the-U.S.A aircraft would be very well accepted in the U.S. market, and we want to be on the leading edge (so to speak) of this technology here.”
Robinson said that recent developments in battery technology and power management make the aircraft feasible. “The two-place Robinson MRA (Multi Rotor Aircraft) 22 prototype is in CAD right now,” he said. “Our simulations point to a 30-40 minute flight time, which would be perfect for most commuters. And it can be parked in a standard automobile parking spot.
“Let’s face it. We love the helicopter business, and we’ll never stop making our flagship products. But the market will soon demand a better way to get to and from work. We want to be able to offer that option, and put a Robinson aircraft in as many garages as we can.”
Robinson said that there will likely be an autonomous version of the aircraft that can be programmed to fly to a specific destination, but he also knows that a lot of people will want to fly the aircraft themselves. “If you can fly a drone, you can fly an MRA22,” he said. “And from the looks of things, just about anybody can fly a drone. They’re sure trying.”
Larger models might also be considered as battery and motor technology improves to increase useful load. The company has not speculated about the possible cost of the aircraft.
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