Aircraft
Airbus Bets on New Propulsion Concepts
With the Bauhaus Luftfahrt, Rolls-Royce and MTU, two projects are targeting distributed thrust. The Quadcruiser combines rotary- and fixed-wing.
The Quadcruiser features four rotors for lift, and a pusher propeller.
The Quadcruiser features four rotors for lift, and a pusher propeller.

The Bauhaus Luftfahrt aerospace think-tank in May unveiled a concept for a “propulsive fuselage” aircraft, opening a new possibility for fuel burn reduction. It is part of a European Union-funded project in cooperation with a number of research centers, as well as MTU Aero Engines and Airbus Group Innovations (OE13). The latter company is also studying a hybrid-power regional airliner with Rolls-Royce (Hall 4 Stand H3). Meanwhile, it is flying a hybrid-lift quadcopter demonstrator for unmanned military and civil missions, the Quadcruiser.