Metro Hop’s new electric STOL plane has an advanced new feature that allows it to take off very quickly from a 25-meter rubber-runway.
Metro Hop’s new STOL plane has an advanced new feature that allows it to take off very quickly. The new electric aircraft can get airborne easily from a 25-meter rubber-runway.
STOL, or Short Takeoff and Landing plane, is the best and practical alternative to VTOL aircraft. Why? Because VTOL uses a huge amount of energy just to take off from the ground.
This dramatically cuts the range since they use out a lot of battery energy just to get airborne. But this time, Metro Hop’s new product proves that STOL can get even better, and more efficient since its latest electric plane doesn’t need a lot of runways.
Metro Hop electric STOL features
According to New Atlas, the new aircraft uses an active landing gear system. This means that it doesn’t heavily rely on its propellers to fly off from the ground.
Metro Hop’s new STOL uses an electric motor on at least one of the wheels. This allows the plane to have efficient acceleration on the ground.
This means that this new plane can combine hard acceleration with a large wing to achieve takeoff speed fast. Another great feature is its landing gear, which is also levered, allowing the electric STOL to lift its body up and down. It can also tilt rearward to maximize lift and drag in STOL situations.
Once you are already in the air, the landing gear will fold out of the way to reduce the drag. This enables the plane to cruise at speeds as high as 250 mph or 400 kmph while making efficient use of its available energy.
The new Metro Hop electric STOl ranges up to 125 miles or 200 km using the current battery technology.
Originally Published at Tech Times