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The Future of Advanced Air Mobility
The Nexus eVTOL aircraft is being developed by Textron's helicopter subsidiary Bell as part of the new Textron eAviation division. (Image: Textron)

Bell first unveiled the Nexus eVTOL aircraft at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2019, but revealed a further honed design—dubbed the Nexus 4EX—at CES 2020. When announced at CES 2019 as a six-ducted design, the first flight for was projected in 2020, with aircraft certification to follow in 2023. These timeline points subsequently slipped and Bell subsequently made changes to the design under the working title 4EX.

By late 2021, the program appeared to be somewhat dormant with Textron executives implying that it was no longer a priority. However, with the subsequent launch of the U.S. aerospace group's new eAviation division, the Nexus appears to be gaining momentum. In October 2022 at the NBAA business aviation show, the company confirmed that Bell's engineering team, supported by colleagues from Textron and new sister company Pipistrel, is building the first full-scale prototype and expect to be ready to start flying it in 2024 or 2025.

Textron's Nexus eVTOL aircraft will carry four passengers and a pilot.
Initially, Textron's Nexus eVTOL aircraft will carry four passengers and a pilot, but may eventually transition to autonomous operations. (Image: Textron)

The new design is larger than the earlier 4EX, with a maximum takeoff weight of 8,000 pounds and a 50-foot wingspan. It features an open rotor system with four stationary units for vertical lift and a pair of tilting rotors for the transition to cruise flight. The main outcome of the changes to the four-passenger vehicle appears to be a boost in the range from 60 to 100 nautical miles, with the wingspan increase explained as a response to FAA requirements. The Nexus is now around the same size as Textron's Cessna Grand Caravan fixed-wing aircraft and will have a cruise speed of 120 kts.

Timeline

program launched

Bell unveiled its Nexus eVTOL program at the Consumer Electronics Show at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2019.

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

Since first being unveiled as a concept during the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2019, Bell's Nexus eVTOL has been something of a stealth program to the extent that by the fall of 2021 it appeared to be close to moribund. However, when Textron established its new eAviation division it became clear that a redesigned version of the four-passenger vehicle is very much front and center in the U.S. company's ambitious plans for the advanced air mobility sector. Textron isn't buying into the breathless gold-rush dash to market involving several investment-hungry eVTOL start-ups. It is taking more of a long-game approach and doesn't expect the sector to gain sustained momentum until the start of the 2030s.

Nexus Models

Nexus Specifications

local vtol Lift + Cruise
Imperial/Metric

Performance

  • Passenger Capacity
    4
  • Range
    115 mi
  • Cruise Speed
    138 mph
  • Powerplant Type
    multi rotor
  • Power Source
    electric
  • Endurance
    n/a
  • Max Altitude
    n/a
  • Takeoff Distance
    n/a
  • Landing Distance
    n/a
  • Empty Weight
    n/a
  • MGTOW
    8,000 lb
  • Payload Weight
    800 lb

Dimensions

  • Length
    46 ft
  • Width
    n/a
  • Height
    n/a
  • Wingspan
    50 ft
Textron's Nexus eVTOL aircraft will carry four passengers and a pilot.

The latest Nexus design unveiled in October 2022 is larger than the earlier 4EX, with a maximum takeoff weight of 8,000 pounds and a 50-foot wingspan. It features an open rotor system with four stationary units a pair of tilting rotors. The main outcome of the changes to the four-passenger vehicle appears to be a boost in the range from 60 to 100 nautical miles, with the wingspan increase explained as a response to FAA requirements. The Nexus is now around the same size as Textron's Cessna Grand Caravan fixed-wing aircraft and will have a cruise speed of 120 kts.

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