Aircraft / Aria V5 AAM
The Aria V5 AAM is a hybrid-electric powered, quad-engine turboprop advanced air mobility (AAM) tilt-rotor VTOL aircraft produced by Aria Aircraft Company, a commercial aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Denver, Colorado USA, and Dublin, Ireland.
The aircraft is configured with tandem wings and a V-tail (aka swallowtail) empennage. The forward wing is mounted just forward of the fuselage midsection, while the rear wing passes through the midsection of the V-tail assembly. Each of the Aria V5’s four ducted-fan, tilt-rotor engines are mounted on the outer edge of each wing.
Each of the aircraft’s four engines can cycle between 0° (full forward position) and 90° (full up position), and their propellers can switch into full reverse as needed. The aircraft is designed to operate optimally as a hybrid electric-SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) aircraft, but can also use Jet A or A-1 fuel in place of SAF fuel if necessary.
The V5 features both retractable helicopter-style landing skids and a set of four retractable wheeled landing gear. When stationed on the ground to board or disembark passengers, the Aria V5 uses its skids to help the aircraft “kneel” closer to the ground, allowing passengers and crew to more easily enter or exit the aircraft using an all-weather running board that extends outward to form an extra stair step when the aircraft enters the kneeling position.
Passengers are seated two abreast in two rows facing each other, with the rear set facing forward and the front set facing aft. The Aria V5’s pressurized passenger cabin features larger than standard electronically dimmable windows (EDW) offering full left and right visibility that provide spectacular views outside the aircraft, while also allowing passengers to adjust their window to allow five different levels of sunlight and visibility. Passenger baggage may be stowed in bins located beneath each row, with enough room for one suitcase and one carry-on bag, or up to 3 carry-on bags. A sliding door separates the passenger cabin from the pilot’s forward cockpit, allowing a person to crawl between the two sections, or to give privacy to passengers as necessary.
The cockpit front window on the Aria V5 provides the pilot(s) with a nearly uninterrupted 230° forward panoramic view. The cockpit doors have large windows as well, and floor-level vertical reference windows offer the pilot proper spatial placement of the aircraft, its skids, and any objects located below when landing in VTOL mode.
The V5’s manual flight controls consist of a center control stick, a thrust control lever (TCL) and a set of floor-mounted rudder pedals. These controls are available in both cockpit cabin seats, allowing the pilot-in-command (PIC) to operate from either seats and to also disable the controls for the opposing seat if they wish to allow a passenger to be seated alongside them. Hand controls on the center control stick provide complete hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS) access and contain all the controls necessary to operate multiple systems on the aircraft. The center control stick functions as cyclic control while in helicopter mode, then gradually becomes a traditional airplane control stick as the tilt-rotor engines transition over into airplane mode. Meanwhile, the thrust control lever moves fore and aft like an airplane throttle and serves as a traditional throttle during the transition between forward flying and hovering modes.
The flight deck is a glass cockpit incorporating four large multi-function displays - two in front of each cockpit seat - along with a large shared central display. The flight deck also contains an advanced cockpit management system (CMS) featuring autopilot functions to automate the takeoff and landing process either via VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) mode, or STOL (short takeoff and landing) using a conventional runway, as well as to manage the aircraft’s transition between hover and forward flight modes.
Should the pilot become incapacitated, a passenger can toggle an emergency Land-Me switch that triggers an onboard computer to notify air traffic control of the emergency and then either 1) locate and proceed to the nearest airport where the V5 can safely land itself automatically, or 2) if no such airport can be found, to automatically VTOL-land the aircraft in an open area free of ground obstructions, such as an open field or empty parking lot.
The Aria V5 was originally designed as an urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft. However, because of its superior speed (up to 300 knots / 556 km/h) and range (up to 600 nm / 1111 km), the V5 can also operate as a regional air mobility (RAM) aircraft. The V5 can operate from any H2 or H3 sized helipad, or from any ground-based H1 helipad; it can also operate from virtually any vertiport as well as any conventional airport, whether in VTOL or STOL mode.
The Aria V5’s hybrid electric-SAF fuel platform and its onboard turbogenerator offers lower emissions than either conventional fuel aircraft or all-electric aircraft. The V5 produces roughly half the emissions of an all-electric aircraft, and about 20% the emissions of a conventional fuel-based turboprop airplane. Even when the V5 is required to run on ordinary Jet-A or Jet-A1 fuel instead of SAF, the V5’s emissions are nearly the same as for an electric aircraft, while still producing less than half the emissions of a conventional fuel-only turboprop aircraft.
While the Aria V5 currently delivers as a hybrid electric-fuel aircraft, the V5 is pre-configured for conversion to a future hybrid electric-hydrogen fuel-cell platform to be introduced in the late 2020s. Aria Aircraft is also developing a variant prototype - tentatively named the Aria V5b - that will feature a slightly stretched fuselage to add a separate baggage compartment. Another prototype variant, known as the Aria V5j, is testing out the addition of a Sonata Type 20B top-mounted turbofan engine - the same engine type currently used on the 12-passenger Aria V12 eVTOL aircraft - to further extend the range and speed of the type.
Reference: none - fictional; inspired by the Zuri 2.0 and Joby S4.
Stats
Stats displayed are for the Aria v5 AAM quad-engine UAM/RAM aircraft.
Name: Aria V5 AAM
Final Assembly Lines: Reno, Nevada USA; Dublin, Ireland
Role: Quad Engine eVTOL UAM/RAM Aircraft
First Introduction: 12 December 2024
Status: In Production; In Service
Cockpit Crew: One (standard) or Two (optional)
Seating: 4 standard (optional 5th may sit in cockpit with pilot)
Engines: 4 x Sonata Type 21 tilt-rotor ducted-fan turboprop
Overhead Flight Noise Footprint: 45 dBA at 500 m
Takeoff/Landing Footprint: 65 dBA at 100 m
Cruise Speed: 300 knots (556 km/h; 345 mph)
Max Speed: 320 knots (592 km/h; 368 mph)
Range: Hybrid-Electric up to 600 nmi (1111 km; 690 mi)
Electric Only: 450 nmi (833 km; 518 mi)
Fuel Reserves Only (SAF or Jet-A): 150 nmi (278 km; 173 mi)
Runway Requirements:
Takeoff: 0 feet (0 m) VTOL; 675 feet (206 m) STOL
Landing: 0 feet (0 m) VTOL; 600 feet (183 m) STOL
Service Ceiling: 15,000 feet (4572 m)
VTOL Hover Ceiling:
In Ground Effect: 10,000 feet (3048 m)
Out of Ground Effect: 8000 feet (2438 m)