The Future of Advanced Air Mobility

PteroDynamics’ Parus Transwing family of all-electric VTOL aircraft are being developed for a variety of applications, primarily including cargo carrying and military operations. The design combines folding fixed wings and rotors to allow the aircraft to transition between vertical and cruise flight.

The aircraft flies with wings fully extended during cruise, but for takeoff and landing its wings can be folded back into a v-shaped multirotor configuration. This foldable design also means that Transwing aircraft will have longer than average wings, for an eVTOL design, resulting in lift-to-drag ratios greater than 20.

According to the company, when the wings are folded, Transwing aircraft will be barely a third of the width of other VTOL models. This is intended to allow them to also be driven on roads.

PteroDynamics was awarded its first patent on the Transwing aircraft design in April 2019, covering 25 apparatus and five method claims. The company subsequently filed a continuation application for an additional 20 claims, for which it received a Notice of Allowance in July 2019. In August 2020, the company was granted a notice of allowance for a third patent. 

The company says it can design Transwing aircraft that range in weight from less than 5 pounds to over 75,000 pounds and can be configured using all-electric, hybrid electric with turboshaft engines or even all conventional wet fuel engines. Its Parus 4 and Parus 12 aircraft are at the working prototype stage.

On September 19, 2020, Pterodynamics posted video showing a test flight of the Parus 12, showing its wingspan of just over 12 feet. The company reported that this design is protected by two U.S. patents (with a third pending) and that it has other patents pending in the European Union, China, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Its most recent U.S patent was issued in April 2021. According to the company, it has patents pending in four international jurisdictions under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

In late July 2021, PteroDynamics leased a 9,200-square-foot facility in Colorado Springs to house the research, development, and production of its Transwing eVTOL aircraft program.

Timeline

patent granted

Further U.S. patents for Transwing aircraft design

patent granted

U.S. patent granted covering 25 apparatus and 5 method claims for the Transwing design.

Outlook

Our objective assessment of this program’s probable success.

FutureFlight assesses the probability of success for a new aircraft program by considering the following criteria:

  • Total investment funds available in proportion to the anticipated cost of getting an aircraft certified and in service
  • A company’s in-house capability (in terms of numbers of engineers, technical staff, and customer support teams)
  • The past experience of the company and its senior leadership in developing aircraft
  • The caliber and past experience of key program partners
  • Whether key aircraft systems have been selected and are available for use
  • Whether the preliminary design review has been completed
  • Whether the design for the full-scale prototype has been completed
  • Whether the type certification process has been formally initiated with an appropriate regulator
  • Whether the company has achieved a first flight with a full-scale prototype
  • The number of hours logged in a flight test program
  • Whether type certification has been achieved
  • The number of orders and commitment received for the aircraft
  • Whether the company has adequate facilities to begin series production of the aircraft
Our Methodology

PteroDynamics is building an ambitious, but somewhat vaguely designed program that promises to be all things to all people. Its CEO appears to have a strong track record with technology startups. The California-based company is still seeking funding to advance the development of the Transwing family of aircraft. As of April 2021, the company had been granted three U.S. patents.

However, as of mid-2021, Pterodynamics had not provided any substantive update on progress with its development work and it remained unclear whether it has adequate financial backing to bring any of its aircraft concepts to market. Based on YouTube video footage posted in early February 2021, the company still appeared to be flight testing sub-scale models of its planned eVTOL design.

Transwing Models

Parus36 Specifications

autonomous vtol Lift + Cruise

Performance

  • Passenger Capacity
  • Range
    130 mi
  • Cruise Speed
    70 mph
  • Powerplant Type
    multi rotor
  • Power Source
    hybrid_fe
  • Endurance
    90 min
  • Max Altitude
    n/a
  • Takeoff Distance
    n/a
  • Landing Distance
    n/a
  • Empty Weight
    600 lb
  • MGTOW
    1,500 lb
  • Payload Weight
    500 lb

Dimensions

  • Length
    18 ft
  • Width
    n/a
  • Height
    n/a
  • Wingspan
    20 ft

The Parus36 is the largest of PteroDynamics' planned eVTOL aircraft and it is being developed with cargo missions in mind. Unlike most other members of the planned family, it would have a hybrid-electric propulsion system. A variant, referred to as the Parus 36ch, appears to promise significantly longer range (2,500 miles) and endurance (30 hours), but it is unclear how this would be achieved.

Key Personnel

Matthew Graczyk
Matthew Graczyk

Founder

Val Pterov
Val Pterov

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)