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The Future of Advanced Air Mobility
The Doroni H1 is a two-seat personal eVTOL vehicle design. (Image: Doroni Aerospace)

Doroni Aerospace is developing a two-seat personal eVTOL vehicle called the Doroni H1. The project started a single-seat design in 2016, and was adjusted to increase payload after getting feedback from prospective customers. In January 2022, the company told FutureFlight that it expected to complete construction of a full-scale prototype by June 2022, with a view to starting flight testing by the end of the year. It is aiming to certify the vehicle under the FAA"s rules for light sports aircraft so that owners would not require a pilot's license to operate it. Instead, they would need only to conduct 15 hours of training and 5 hours of solo flying. The company said that it had begun to engage with the FAA over certification arrangements and is aiming to start deliveries in 2024.d

According to co-founder Doron Merdinger, it expects to produce 22 H1s in the first year of production, rising to more than 700 units by the fifth year of manufacturing. As of January 2022, the company had raised $427,000 from 472 individual investors. It holds a U.S. design patent, and has a patent application pending to cover aspects of the aerodynamics.

Outlook

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:

  • Total investment funds available in proportion to the anticipated cost of getting an aircraft certified and in service
  • A company’s in-house capability (in terms of numbers of engineers, technical staff, and customer support teams)
  • The past experience of the company and its senior leadership in developing aircraft
  • The caliber and past experience of key program partners
  • Whether key aircraft systems have been selected and are available for use
  • Whether the preliminary design review has been completed
  • Whether the design for the full-scale prototype has been completed
  • Whether the type certification process has been formally initiated with an appropriate regulator
  • Whether the company has achieved a first flight with a full-scale prototype
  • The number of hours logged in a flight test program
  • Whether type certification has been achieved
  • The number of orders and commitment received for the aircraft
  • Whether the company has adequate facilities to begin series production of the aircraft
Our Methodology

Doroni Aerospace is seeking to enter an already crowded market seeking to develop personal eVTOL vehicles, or flying cars. Like its rivals, the company's business model hinges on getting the aircraft certified under FAA's light sports category since this would not require operators to have formal pilot training. For now, the more immediate challenge would appear to be raising funds required to bring the vehicle to market as the total raised through crowdfunding as of January 2022 is nowhere close to what it will take to get the vehicle into production. A far more substantial injection of capital will be needed if Doroni is to achieve its objective of starting deliveries to customers in 2024.

Doroni H1 Models

Doroni H1 Specifications

local vtol Flying Car/Hover Bike
Imperial/Metric

Performance

  • Passenger Capacity
    2
  • Range
    60 mi
  • Cruise Speed
    100 mph
  • Powerplant Type
    ducted fan
  • Power Source
    electric
  • Endurance
    n/a
  • Max Altitude
    n/a
  • Takeoff Distance
    n/a
  • Landing Distance
    n/a
  • Empty Weight
    n/a
  • MGTOW
    n/a
  • Payload Weight
    500 lb

Dimensions

  • Length
    n/a
  • Width
    n/a
  • Height
    n/a
  • Wingspan
    n/a

The Doroni H1 is a two-seat eVTOL vehicle, with ducted fans fitted in a main wing and canard, and a pair of small pusherprops at the rear of the fuselage. Its main application is personal transportation, but the company also sees potential for light freight deliveries. The company says the aircraft will have a range of up to around 60 miles, a cruise speed of 100 mph, and a top speed of 140 mph.

Key Personnel

Doron Merdinger
Doron Merdinger

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Roman Antonov
Roman Antonov

Chief engineer

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