Multiple car companies have shown concepts for VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft in the past few years, and in varying degrees of plausibility. But it seems Hyundai might be the most serious. At CES 2024, its aircraft-specific subsidiary Supernal showed he latest development of the vehicle called S-A2, along with some specifications.
The basics are still the same as with the S-A1. It’s an electric aircraft, and it features eight full-tilt rotors. The passenger arrangement is set at four plus the pilot. But additional details about operation have been added. It’s designed to cruise at 120 mph at 1,500 feet and handle 25- to 40-mile trips. Apparently the battery is designed to be easily upgraded in the future. Supernal claims impressive quietness, too, with the aircraft making just 65 decibels of noise at takeoff and landing, which drops to just 45 at cruising speed. As Hyundai describes, that’s dishwasher levels of noise at takeoff, and less at cruising. That’s of course a positive for everyone onboard or nearby, and especially nice if these are going to be used in cities.
The company previously announced that it’s targeting a test flight in December of this year. It’s also going to submit the vehicle for FAA certification in the near future. Supernal emphasized that, like other aircraft, the S-A2 has thorough redundancies for the controls and powertrain. And if everything goes according to plans, the company hopes to have the S-A2, or whatever the production version is called, begin service in 2028.
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