True to its name, the Israel-based startup Urban Aeronautics is seeking to distinguish itself from other eVTOL competitors by offering a platform tailored to the meet the unique requirements of operating an air taxi service in the most dense and congested of urban environments.
The centerpiece of Urban’s efforts is the CityHawk air taxi platform. Taking design cues from automobiles, the CityHawk is a four-passenger, single-pilot aircraft that offers a unique proprietary design. The CityHawk features two large, ducted rotors located in the aft and rear and is without wings, making for a lean physical profile of 8.4 feet wide and 2.6 meters in width and 7.7 meters in length.
The CityHawk’s electric propulsion system will be powered by hydrogen fuel cell stacks and is envisioned as utilizing a fly-by-wire piloting configuration. Urban partnered with U.S-based energy startup HyPoint, acquired by ZeroAvia in 2022, for the provision of the platform’s hydrogen fuel cell technology. Urban’s technical specifications for the platform tout a 234 km/h maximum cruising speed and maximum takeoff weight of 4250 pounds. Urban has also established partnerships with Safran and the Cert Center Canada.
Along with the passenger air taxi version, Urban Aeronautics also plans to introduce an emergency medical services (EMS) variant of the City Hawk, leveraging the platform’s suitability for safely operating amidst pedestrians and comparatively minimal infrastructural requirements for takeoff and landing. According to Urban, the New York City-based Chevra Hatzalah volunteer ambulance service has preordered four EMS model City Hawks.
