SA-2 from Supernal – a city plane that allows you to avoid traffic jams

While its onshore automotive units collect hydrogen from wastewater and development of modular vansLeading air mobility company Supernal, part of the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG), had its own ambitious plans. Tuesday, first day CES 2024Supernal has unveiled the S-A2, an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed to beat traffic jams and transport travelers on 20- to 40-mile excursions through urban areas.

“The SA-2 takes the best of an airplane, safe and smooth flight, and combines it with the best of a helicopter: comfort and the ability to take off and land vertically, even in dense urban environments,” the CEO said. , from Supernal, Jaivon Shin. “It really is the best of both worlds, and it’s battery powered: comfortable, convenient and clean.”

The V-tail aircraft is an iteration of the SA-1 concept shown at CES 2020. It uses a total of eight rotors that rotate up and down, helping the aircraft take off vertically and then forward while cruising for greater efficiency. . Supernal says it will travel at speeds of up to 120 mph and reach an altitude of 1,500 feet.

The glass cockpit and body, inspired by the eyes of a bee, are designed to give pilots and passengers an unobstructed view of their surroundings. Inside, the S-A2 can seat up to four passengers in modular seats that can be reconfigured on the fly. The team started with 100 projects and then narrowed them down to one, balancing redundancy and efficiency, Shin said.

Overcoming the relatively low power density of modern batteries in applications that are notoriously energy-intensive has become an engineering challenge for Supernal. According to Ben Diachun, Supernal’s technical director, the S-A2 requires the same amount of power at takeoff as a car that goes from 0 to 60 in two seconds, but the S-A2 must maintain that power for 30 seconds. Despite this colossal energy consumption, Supernal claims that it emits just 65 decibels upon takeoff – no louder than a modern dishwasher. To take into account expected advances in battery technology, the aircraft has a modular design that should allow for continuous upgrades.

Supernal will operate S-A2 from so-called vertiports, hubs in densely populated urban areas. It plans to achieve the same safety standards used in commercial aviation and work with state aviation authorities to develop operational procedures.

If all goes well, you could see the S-A2 soaring through the skies of metropolitan cities in 2028, but Supernal has not yet confirmed which markets it will be launched in.