Page 39 - EngineerIt April 2021

INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION

SA’s Pegasus Vertical Business Jet gets ready for lift-off

he Pegasus Vertical Business Jet (VBJ), being wooden decks and even moving surfaces like a yacht, something that eVTOL craft cannot do.
Tdeveloped in South Africa, is entering its This means the Pegasus VBJ can free busy executives from the time-consuming trip to the airport,
next phase with two quarter-scale models to be even on long-range flights. It can also provide a solution for dense urban areas where space to build
ready for testing and engineering by May 2021 airports are limited.
and a full-scale unmanned hover model by the The aircraft seats seven people, including the pilot and has a range of 4400km from a runway take-
end of the year. off and 2124km from vertical take-off. Its endurance is 6.6 hours (runway) or 3.18 hours (VTOL).
This follows the successful hover
demonstration of a 1/8-scale model in July last Flight speed is up to 796km/h
year and the registration of patent rights in The unique flight control system being developed by Callen Lenz in the UK will ensure enhanced safety
South Africa, Europe, and the US. and ease of flight from a pilot’s perspective.
The aircraft is set to revolutionise Pegasus has partnered with Centurion-based aeronautical engineering company Epsilon
business travel globally and free travelers Engineering Services in the further development of the aircraft.
from the burden of the time-consuming Transportation & Industrial designer Tamir Mizrahi joined Pegasus in January 2021 as the VBJ’s
drive to the airport. exterior & interior innovation designer.
The aircraft, that combines and enhances The company is already working with AWS Amazon to develop a smart manufacturing facility with
the characteristics of a helicopter with the Artificial Intelligence and robotics.
luxury, range, and speed of a business jet, has In 2019 the Pegasus Universal Aerospace appointed Robbie Irons, who has extensive experience in
been hailed by the Urban Mobility Project as business aviation with companies like ExecuJet and Bombardier as CEO and since, aviation heavyweight
the 6th most likely to succeed globally in a Andrew Dietrich joined the company as chief pilot and head of flight operations.
2019 independent review by Abbott Aerospace. The developers are currently raising funds with an offer of profit sharing for investors participating
The review included 100 different projects, in its seven-year note. The minimum investment is R10 000. Dr Reza says the current fund raising is the
including some sponsored and supported by third of its kind. While there is a total of R261 million’s worth of shares available, the immediate target
Boeing, Airbus & various governments around is R30million – R40 million.
the World as well as venture capital companies “We have more than delivered on the promises made at our previous fund raising. It is a big
with billions of Dollars in funding. responsibility to work with other people’s money and we make sure that we stretch each rand as far as
“Most of these are of the air taxi type, possible,” Dr Reza says.
therefore, more compelling and exciting for Offers to become part of this unique project close in June. The prospectus and a full presentation
us, is that we were ranked first in the VTOL are available at https://pegasusua.com/ n
airplanes aimed at business jet type mission
profile,” says Dr. Reza who first conceptualised
the Pegasus VBJ.
Dr Reza, one of South Africa’s most
renowned practitioners in the field of aesthetic
medicine and an avid aeronautics scholar, was
the founder CEO of Pegasus Universal Aerospace
and now serves as chairman of the company.
He expects the aircraft to turn the market
for helicopters, business jets and short-range
electronic vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL)
craft on its head.
Feasibility studies have valued the potential
market at $2 trillion over twenty years.
With a wingspan of 14,8 m the Pegasus VBJ
can take off and land on any helipad, but thanks
to its cool-air fan technology also on grass,