This paper looks at 4 different eVTOL aircraft designs based on the Uber eCRM-002 aircraft. 2 with conventional propulsion systems and mechanical power transmission, 1 fully electric with batteries only, and 1 VH-3 hybrid configuration. Powering distributed propellers on the airframe with mechanical means was quickly found to be too heavy and not efficient. The hybrid configuration was superior to the fully electric as it could fly for 286 miles vs 74 miles of the fully electric. Taking reserve requirements into account, the hybrid configuration was able to meet all the different FAA requirements for both aircraft and rotorcraft configurations while the fully electric was only able to meet the VFR rotorcraft reserve requirement leaving only 25 miles of useful mission range compared to the 229 miles of the hybrid configuration for the same reserve requirement. The fully electric did not meet any of the other reserve requirements as shown below.
Performance Study of a VH-3 Hybrid-Electric eCRM-002 Aircraft Comparing Reserve Energy and Range to Fully Electric and Conventional Propulsion Alternatives
