FutureFlight
Overair Completes First Butterfly eVTOL Prototype and Prepares to Start Flight Testing
The U.S. Navy has awarded the company a research and technology contract as it looks to apply new technology to its future rotorcraft fleet.
Overair's first Butterfly eVTOL prototype
Overair has completed assembly of the first full-scale prototype of its Butterfly eVTOL aircraft at its Santa Ana facility in California. (Image: Overair)

Overair has completed assembly of the first full-scale prototype of its Butterfly eVTOL aircraft and says it will be ready to start flight testing early in 2024. Announcing the program milestone on Tuesday, the company said the flight testing of the tiltrotor model will validate the proprietary Optimum Speed Tilt Rotor (OSTR) and Individual Blade Control (IBC) technology  it says will give its vehicle an edge in terms of performance, reliability and low noise levels.

Final assembly of the first Butterfly prototype has been conducted at Overair’s headquarters in Santa Ana, California. Its engineering team has begun vehicle-level ground testing at that location before moving the aircraft to its flight test facility just over 80 miles away in Victorville.