first delivery
Faradair aims for the all-electric version of its Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft to be ready to enter service by the end of 2030.
Faradair is developing the Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft (BEHA) a multi-role, fixed-wing aircraft that it hopes will be ready to enter service in 2026. The aircraft design features "triple box" wing and a rear-ducted fan. The program timeline calls for an all-electric version of the BEHA to be ready by 2030. The initial hybrid model will be able to run on sustainable aviation fuel.
As of September 2020, the UK company was in the latter stages of deciding the final configuration and composition of the initial hybrid propulsion system. It aims to have the design finalized by the end of the second quarter of 2021 and to then start building a full-scale prototype, with a view to achieving a first flight in early 2024. In the same month, it moved into the new Avtech aerospace park at Duxford airfield in eastern England, where a new building is being developed to accommodate its manufacturing facility.
In December 2020, Faradair announced the following four companies as risk-sharing partners: Honeywell (turbogenerators, avionics, and flight controls); MagniX (electric motors); Cambridge Consultants (propulsion system architecture); and Nova Systems (prototype development and certification).
Faradair's business model calls for it to build a portfolio of 300 BEHA aircraft that it will own and operate itself. The aircraft are expected to be used in a variety of applications, including passenger transportation, logistics and fire fighting.
The company, which was founded in 2014, has been working to complete a new funding round during the course of 2021. This year has seen it add to its group of partners through an agreement with Dunlop Aircraft Tyres. It has also strengthened its management team with former Boeing marketing vice president Randy Tinseth and former EasyJet executive Tony Anderson joining its advisory board.
Faradair aims for the all-electric version of its Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft to be ready to enter service by the end of 2030.
Faradair aims to have its Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft certified and ready to enter service by the end of 2026.
Faradair aims to have started test flights with a full-scale prototype of the Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft by "early" in 2024.
Faradair aims to complete a new funding round by the end of the second quarter of 2021, at which point it also aims to have finalized the design of its Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft.
Our objective assessment of this program’s probable success.
FutureFlight assesses the probability of success for a new aircraft program by considering the following criteria:
On its own admission, Faradair has struggled to gain momentum with its Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft program on which it has been working since 2014. After almost abandoning its UK base to move operations to the U.S., it secured a permanent home at Duxford airfield's new Avtech aerospace park. This appears to have reinvigorated the company as it seeks to finalize the design and start work on a full-scale prototype. A significant new boost came from the December 2020 announcement that Honeywell, MagniX, Cambridge Consultants, and Nova Systems have signed up as risk-sharing partners.
The completion of a new funding round will be critical in determining the pace at which work be accelerated towards projected initial service entry in 2026.
The M1AT is the unmanned version of Faradair's Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft. The company envisages a variety of military applications for the variant.
As of September 2020, the specifications and performance details for the UAV had yet to be determined. Faradair has yet to resolve whether it will be the same size as the M1H passenger aircraft or perhaps a much smaller version based on a 50 percent scaled prototype.