Samad Aerospace, the UK start-up working on the Starling family of eVTOL and eSTOL aircraft, has rebooted itself under the name ARC Aero Systems and with an ambitious business plan to bring new models to market: a compound rotorcraft as well as a pair of autonomous cargo uncrewed air vehicles (UAVs). ARC stands for Advancing Regional Connectivity, and its founder, Seyed Mohseni, says that the company’s mission has shifted to serving subregional passenger and freight applications, rather than short flights within urban areas.
The key features of the new Linx P9 design are a main rotor that draws electric power only during jump takeoffs and no-roll landings. An electric motor spins the rotor head until there is enough speed to make the rotors turn, at which point the pilot changes the tilt angle of the rotors for takeoff, after which point a pair of pusher propellers and a fixed wing support horizontal cruise flight. Once airborne, the rotor will be unlocked to act as a wind turbine generating more electrical power.
