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Aeros e-VTOL Project Explores a Hybrid Air and Sea Design for Personal Taxis

You know it’s happening. You hear news about them every day now. Air taxis are officially vehicles everyone could be riding very soon. All that’s left now is the never-ending supply of designs and ideas that may or may not make it into real vehicles.
Aeros Air Taxi Concept 15 photos
Photo: Lee Rosario
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One concept that I personally feel needs some attention because of its level of versatility is the Aeros from Lee Rosario, a conceptual designer from Orlando, Florida. If you look at Mr. Rosario’s webpage, you’ll meet designs that range from architecture to Formula 1 cars, blimps, motorcycles, drones, rovers, and air taxis like the Aeros.

The Aeros is an air taxi that is a bit different from other designs you may have seen. That's because, unlike other renderings that float around the WWW, this one has been given a decent amount of thought and does include some technological ideas.

That is one of the beautiful things about renderings and concepts such as these; they sometimes capture a future that society is aiming for, and one that sometimes becomes a reality.

Aeros Air Taxi Concept
Photo: Lee Rosario
Upon first sight, the renderings reveal an air taxi that may be different from the current drone-like vehicles under development. Only one rotor is visible on the taxi, but that one rotor is large enough to lift the entire vehicle off the ground or landing pad.

Once in the air, part two of the propulsion system kicks in. At the rear of the taxi, the designer states that there's a Rolls Royce Hybrid Electric Jet powerplant that releases a jet exhaust. Basically, you’ll be riding around on a jet powered e-VTOL, and as far as I'm aware, Rolls Royce isn’t officially in on the action.

Since the rear controls thrust, the rotor is meant to control lift, but what about lateral movements and fine adjustments? As odd as what I'm about to tell you may sound, there’s a method to the designer’s madness.

Aeros Air Taxi Concept
Photo: Lee Rosario
Looking at the Aeros from above, you’ll notice two dome-like structures. The first dome, the one at the front, is simply meant to house passengers, while the smaller dome at the rear, the one with all the holes in it, is meant to stabilize the vehicle laterally. How? The holes you see are small channels or “blow jets” activated via computer-controlled software. These small thrusters are just enough to keep the body stable. A few more of these blow jets are also found on the rear's underside for the same purpose.

Now, for the most important feature of the Aeros: it’s amphibious! That’s right. Unlike other air taxi designs available on the market and currently being researched, as far as I'm aware, this one is just as comfortable in local waters as it is soaring through the skies.

Let’s say you’re island hopping in the Maldives. No longer will your trip be limited due to the lack of a landing surface. Even more, the Aeros doesn’t just land on water but can also operate in depths up to 20 feet (6.1 meters). The cockpit is pressurized to ensure this ability is carried out safely.

Aeros Air Taxi Concept
Photo: Lee Rosario
To do so, the same propulsion system used for flying can be used in water as similarities between air and water, in terms of fluid mechanics, do exist. Check out some of Da Vinci’s studies if you’d like to get a good start in fluid mechanics.

Sure, it’s not so simple, but water could very well be used if the engine includes some secondary function that uses water as a jet stream. I believe jet skis function on a similar principle to the one I'm describing.

As for you, the passenger, you’ll be sitting in a cabin that offers no view of an outside world except via a “sophisticated” environmental camera that projects your surroundings inside the cabin via a curved plasma display. No, wait, where’s my popcorn!?

Sure, it may seem like a long shot, but think about it for a minute. It’s only a matter of time before somebody takes an e-VTOL and straps a jet engine to it. Then it’s only a matter of time before another lab-crazed designer creates a system that allows for amphibious abilities. Won’t be long now.
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About the author: Cristian Curmei
Cristian Curmei profile photo

A bit of a nomad at heart (being born in Europe and raised in several places in the USA), Cristian is enamored with travel trailers, campers and bikes. He also tests and writes about urban means of transportation like scooters, mopeds and e-bikes (when he's not busy hosting our video stories and guides).
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