Transcend Air Vy 421

The Vy 421 is a tiltwing parallel hybrid VTOL being developed by Transcend Air Corp. Flight testing of the aircraft is projected for 2025 with certification coming from the FAA under part 21.17b.

Structure and Powertrain

The Vy 421 is to seat seven passengers and a pilot within the elliptical fuselage. The aircraft features a high tilt-wing with two propellers mounted on the upward/forward facing side at the ends of the wing, and an electric tailfan mounted at the rear end of the fuselage. A fuselage mounted twin tail with winglets sits at the rear and the aircraft has retractable tricycle wheeled landing gear. The rotors/fan are to be powered by a General Electric CT7-8 hybrid engine and a VerdeGo hybrid-electric powertrain. The CT7-8 is a turboshaft engine with 2,500 to 3,000 shp, mounted in fuselage (not tilted), utilizing mechanical power distribution to main props through a conventional drivetrain, allowing the aircraft to be several hundred pounds lighter than electric distribution would be. The Vy 421 is to be constructed by Kaman.

Safety features include dual channel, triple modular redundant flight system, geofencing technology to avoid impact with terrain, and a whole-airframe parachute. The aircraft will also meet Part 27 crashworthiness requirements. Lastly, the propellers are over 10 feet/3m above the landing surface, tailfan has guard ring, so no body parts can be exposed to prop arcs.

Specifications

Avionics

The Vy 421 is to have a fly-by-wire flight control system. Transcend Air have also demonstrated SVO-2 autonomy in simulation under Phase 1 STTR contract with AFWERX. Phase 2 STTR under way.