FutureFlight
Baaz Banks On Folding Wings and Ducted Propellers to Overtake eVTOL Rivals
The German company intends to recruit contractors to build most aircraft components and systems, but will retain control of overall design, technology integration and final assembly.

German start-up Baaz is working on an all-electric eVTOL aircraft that it says will significantly overtake the range provided by rival designs with the ability to fly up to 350 km (219 miles). The distinctive design for the B5 model features folding wings to give it more flexibility operating in urban areas, as well as a novel propulsion system built around five ducted propellers.

The company, which was founded in September 2019 by Hossein Malek Zadeh, a former senior engineer with automotive technology group Siemens-Valeo, is aiming to have a prototype ready to fly within two years, as well as an iron bird ground test unit. It anticipates completing type certification, which will initially be under EASA’s Special Condition VTOL CS-23 rules, by the end of 2025.