The Future of Advanced Air Mobility

Flutr Motors is working on the two-seat Flutr VTOL but believes all-electric is not the best way to go, and so its propulsion system will run on bio-diesel fuel.

The Flutr DTEH (Diesel Turbine Electric Hybrid) features ducted rotors.

Flutr started in 2016 and now has a flying prototype, which the company said is being "iterated toward the goal of stable transition flight, certification, pre-production, sales, and deployment." Projected range is 125 miles, and its speed will be 155 mph.

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

The company claims to have around 20 development engineers working on the Flutr.

Flutr Models

DTEH Specifications

local vtol Tiltrotor

Performance

  • Passenger Capacity
    2
  • Range
    125 mi
  • Cruise Speed
    155 mph
  • Powerplant Type
    multi rotor
  • Power Source
    hybrid_de
  • Endurance
    n/a
  • Max Altitude
    n/a
  • Takeoff Distance
    0 ft
  • Landing Distance
    0 ft
  • Empty Weight
    n/a
  • MGTOW
    n/a
  • Payload Weight
    n/a

Dimensions

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

The first version of the "Flying Urban Transporter"—also known as FLUTR—is to be powered by a hybrid diesel-electric drive and cost around $200,000. At present no timeline is known for this aircraft in terms of first flight and entry-into-service. A tiltrotor design, the FLUTR is expected to cruise at 155 mph and fly up to 125 miles.