Bell, formerly known as Bell Helicopter and a current Uber Elevate partner, has shared new details of its vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) air taxi vehicle. The company revealed the full-scale VTOL model at CES 2019, which is taking place in Las Vegas this week.
The air taxi, named Bell Nexus, is powered by a hybrid-electric propulsion system and features Bell’s signature powered lift concept incorporating six tilting ducted fans.
“As space at the ground level becomes limited, we must solve transportation challenges in the vertical dimension – and that’s where Bell’s on-demand mobility vision takes hold,” said Mitch Snyder, President and CEO of Bell.
“The industry has anticipated the reveal of our air taxi for some time, so Bell is very proud of this moment. We believe the design, taken with our strategic approach to build this infrastructure, will lead to the successful deployment of the Bell Nexus to the world.”
Team Nexus, consisting of Bell, Safran, EPS, Thales, Moog and Garmin, are collaborating on Bell’s VTOL aircraft and on-demand mobility solutions.
Bell will lead the design, development and production of the VTOL systems. Safran will provide the hybrid propulsion and drive systems, EPS will provide the energy storage systems, Thales will provide the Flight Control Computer (FCC) hardware and software, Moog will develop the flight control actuation systems, and Garmin will integrate the avionics and the vehicle management computer (VMC).
