California-based NFT has taken a major move forward by signing a collaborative agreement with Tech Mahindra that will enable the developer to fast-track development, testing and the certification process of its eVTOL. The company hopes to meet a commercialisation target of 2026 following certification under the FAA’s Part 23 rules.

Its four seat eVTOL, Aska, has a maximum flight range of 250 miles on a single charge. The energy management system features a redundant power distribution architecture; each rotor has an independent battery power source plus a range extender that charges the batteries during flight. This ensures continued flight and a safe landing in the event of an emergency.

It is also intended to be driven on the roads, and its in-wheel motor supports dynamic handling capabilities. Placed outside the fuselage, the design enables better aerodynamics and creates additional interior space. The high driving position is similar to that of an SUV, giving the driver good visibility and facilitating adequate ground clearance for STOL mode.

In March 2020, NFT was one of six companies selected to join NASA’s Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge. It is aiming to have a full scale prototype ready to start flight testing as part of this programme in 2022, and says that it has already flown an unmanned subscale model.

India-headquartered information technology company Tech Mahindra will brings its engineering expertise to the project and will also support development in the areas of design, analysis, development of composites and advanced materials, crash dynamics (automotive and aerospace), battery and structural testing.

Co-founder and CEO Guy Kaplinsky says: “We are confident that our engagement with Tech Mahindra will boost Aska's development, testing and certification process to meet our commercialisation target for 2026. Tech Mahindra's aim to deliver tomorrow's experiences today, solidly supports our mission to solve the worldwide problem of traffic congestion and improve people's quality of life.”

Tech Mahindra enterprise Americas president Lakshmanan Chidambaram adds: “The development of drive-and-fly vehicles is an emerging area of innovation globally, which can play a great role in creating best travel experience with minimal infrastructure investment and low environmental impacts. We look forward to creating synergies with Aska by working on the engineering design and analysis of fly-and-drive eVTOL. This forms the core objective of our NXT.NOW strategy.”