In the crowded world of urban air mobility (UAM), ARC Aerosystems has revealed what it says is an entirely fresh approach to the air-taxi.
Where most eVTOL developers opt for complex systems and multiple rotors, ARC is determined to keep true to the basic tenet of aircraft design: keep it simple.
The two passenger/one pilot Linx P3, launched at Paris 2023 is an evolution of the part 27 certified Avian Pegasus gyroplane. The only fundamental change (beyond the obvious styling and composite airframe) is the switch to fully electric, zero emission twin motor propulsion to endow it with class one performance for commercial operations over urban environments.
The P3's vertical "jump"-take-off capability enables it to operate from helipads and vertiports. In flight, the un-powered rotor auto-rotates, providing un-paralleled safety, even if all power should fail - the P3 simply would simply descend under full control to land on any small piece of land within the radius of its glide slope.
The Linx P3 differentiates itself from its rivals though the cost savings that emanate from the simplicity of the overall design. The flight control system is fully mechanical and rather than the unproven SC-eVTOL, the Linx P3 will be certified under the proven part 27 and 29 regulations. This means that the Linx development costs will be a fraction typical of e-VTOLs, bringing the price tag an order of magnitude lower. This reflects heavily on the operating cost of the aircraft, allowing the P3 to genuinely come close to rivalling surface-based taxis.
