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Could electric drones you can sit in take off?

News Feed
Monday, March 31, 2025

Could electric drones you can sit in take off?Katharine Da CostaReporting fromOxfordshireBBCThe Skyfly Axe can take off vertically like a helicopter or land on a runwayImagine an electric drone mixed with a fixed wing plane - that is the concept behind a new two-seater aircraft being developed by start-up company, Skyfly.The Axe promises the flexibility of a helicopter but without the cost, noise pollution or carbon emissions.It is a vertically capable aircraft, or Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which means it can take off like a helicopter.It also has two fixed wings that allows it to take off and land from a runway.The company claims the Axe has a top speed of 100mph, it can carry up to 172kg - approximately the weight of two 13.5st adults - and has a range of 100 miles, about the distance from Oxford to the Isle of Wight.Michael Thompson, CEO of Skyfly, is optimistic the new model will be delivered to customers early next yearThe team, based near Banbury in Oxfordshire, has taken five years to fine tune the design."Compared to a conventional aircraft it's got eight motors which is very strange," says Dr Bill Brooks, Skyfly's chief technical engineer."And it's a tail-first layout called a canard so it's got the tail at the front. The all up weight is 750kg but 240kg of that are batteries so all the structure is carbon fibre to keep it as light as possible," Dr Brooks says.Safety is an important part of the design too. 'Environmental benefits'The large wings help it to glide in the event of power failure and there are two motors at the end of each wing so that if one fails the other can compensate.It is also equipped with an emergency ballistic parachute to bring the aircraft and passengers down safely.As well as being safer and cleaner than conventional aircraft, Michael Thompson, Skyfly's chief executive, says electric models are significantly quieter too."When you're taking off, you're no longer annoying everyone around you from a noise perspective, so I do think electric propulsion brings not only environmental benefits but from a noise pollution point of view, it's a huge benefit as well," he says.Dr Bill Brooks is the chief engineer and test pilot at SkyflyWho is it marketed at?Other eVTOLs under development include those looking to provide an electric flying-taxi service like Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace (VA) . VA, as well as Archer and Joby in the US, are designing electric powered aircraft to carry up to four passengers.Skyfly's Axe, by comparison, is more compact and aimed at the private market.The do-it-youself kit-plane comes with a price tag of £250,000.It is aimed at existing pilots who want to transition away from diesel piston engines.Jason Pritchard, executive editor of eVTOL Insights, says it is also likely to appeal to flying clubs in order to train new members:"The eVTOL aircraft industry is still in its infancy with initial operations a few years away, but it also needs to train large numbers of pilots in the coming years," he says."Additionally, the Axe's design can also train pilots with the skills and controls necessary to land an aircraft without power, which is a necessary tool."SkyflyThe two-seater light aircraft has a range of around 100 milesWhat about charging infrastructure?While the Axe can be charged up overnight with a conventional three-pin plug, just like EV cars, electric aircraft will need the charging infrastructure to be scaled up. Aerovolt, based in West Sussex, has installed rapid chargers at seven UK airports with 40 more in the pipeline.Its founder, Philip Kingsley-Dobson, says demand is growing. "A lot of piston aircraft can't use leaded fuel in the future so they're looking for alternatives and ways we can decarbonise the lower end of aviation," he says.'Cutting edge'There are no eVTOL aircraft currently permitted to fly in the UK.Skyfly's Axe has successfully completed manned test flights in both hover and forward flight modes but still needs to be certified by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).With 40 pre-orders from buyers all over the world, the company hopes to deliver the new model to customers early next year.A CAA spokesperson said: "We are working with innovators to test and fly brand new forms of aviation that keeps the UK at the cutting edge of flight technology and supports the sector to grow."New technology comes with new challenges and safety remains our priority in all this work."

Skyfly's aircraft promises the flexibility of a helicopter without the cost, noise or emissions.

Could electric drones you can sit in take off?

Katharine Da Costa
Reporting fromOxfordshire
BBC The Skyfly Axe two-seater aircraft with two wings and four rotor blades sitting on an airfieldBBC

The Skyfly Axe can take off vertically like a helicopter or land on a runway

Imagine an electric drone mixed with a fixed wing plane - that is the concept behind a new two-seater aircraft being developed by start-up company, Skyfly.

The Axe promises the flexibility of a helicopter but without the cost, noise pollution or carbon emissions.

It is a vertically capable aircraft, or Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which means it can take off like a helicopter.

It also has two fixed wings that allows it to take off and land from a runway.

The company claims the Axe has a top speed of 100mph, it can carry up to 172kg - approximately the weight of two 13.5st adults - and has a range of 100 miles, about the distance from Oxford to the Isle of Wight.

Michael Thompson, CEO of Skyfly, is optimistic the new model will be delivered to customers early next year

The team, based near Banbury in Oxfordshire, has taken five years to fine tune the design.

"Compared to a conventional aircraft it's got eight motors which is very strange," says Dr Bill Brooks, Skyfly's chief technical engineer.

"And it's a tail-first layout called a canard so it's got the tail at the front. The all up weight is 750kg but 240kg of that are batteries so all the structure is carbon fibre to keep it as light as possible," Dr Brooks says.

Safety is an important part of the design too.

'Environmental benefits'

The large wings help it to glide in the event of power failure and there are two motors at the end of each wing so that if one fails the other can compensate.

It is also equipped with an emergency ballistic parachute to bring the aircraft and passengers down safely.

As well as being safer and cleaner than conventional aircraft, Michael Thompson, Skyfly's chief executive, says electric models are significantly quieter too.

"When you're taking off, you're no longer annoying everyone around you from a noise perspective, so I do think electric propulsion brings not only environmental benefits but from a noise pollution point of view, it's a huge benefit as well," he says.

Dr Bill Brooks is the chief engineer and test pilot at Skyfly

Who is it marketed at?

Other eVTOLs under development include those looking to provide an electric flying-taxi service like Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace (VA) .

VA, as well as Archer and Joby in the US, are designing electric powered aircraft to carry up to four passengers.

Skyfly's Axe, by comparison, is more compact and aimed at the private market.

The do-it-youself kit-plane comes with a price tag of £250,000.

It is aimed at existing pilots who want to transition away from diesel piston engines.

Jason Pritchard, executive editor of eVTOL Insights, says it is also likely to appeal to flying clubs in order to train new members:

"The eVTOL aircraft industry is still in its infancy with initial operations a few years away, but it also needs to train large numbers of pilots in the coming years," he says.

"Additionally, the Axe's design can also train pilots with the skills and controls necessary to land an aircraft without power, which is a necessary tool."

Skyfly The two-seater Axe in vertical take-offSkyfly

The two-seater light aircraft has a range of around 100 miles

What about charging infrastructure?

While the Axe can be charged up overnight with a conventional three-pin plug, just like EV cars, electric aircraft will need the charging infrastructure to be scaled up.

Aerovolt, based in West Sussex, has installed rapid chargers at seven UK airports with 40 more in the pipeline.

Its founder, Philip Kingsley-Dobson, says demand is growing.

"A lot of piston aircraft can't use leaded fuel in the future so they're looking for alternatives and ways we can decarbonise the lower end of aviation," he says.

'Cutting edge'

There are no eVTOL aircraft currently permitted to fly in the UK.

Skyfly's Axe has successfully completed manned test flights in both hover and forward flight modes but still needs to be certified by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

With 40 pre-orders from buyers all over the world, the company hopes to deliver the new model to customers early next year.

A CAA spokesperson said: "We are working with innovators to test and fly brand new forms of aviation that keeps the UK at the cutting edge of flight technology and supports the sector to grow.

"New technology comes with new challenges and safety remains our priority in all this work."

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

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Environmental Agency Denies Petition to Designate Big Hole River as Impaired by Nutrient Pollution

Montana’s environmental regulator has denied a petition to designate the Big Hole River as impaired by nitrogen and phosphorus

Montana’s environmental regulator has denied a petition to designate the Big Hole River as impaired by nitrogen and phosphorus, throwing a wrench in environmentalists’ efforts to put the blue-ribbon fishery on a “pollution diet.”Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and the Big Hole River Foundation contend that excess nutrients are creating regular summertime algal blooms that can stretch for more than a mile, robbing fish and the macroinvertebrate bugs they eat of the oxygen they need to thrive. The groups argue in the petition they sent to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality last month that an impairment designation would direct the agency to identify and work to reduce the river’s pollution sources in an effort to rebalance the river’s aquatic ecosystem.On April 14, about a month after receiving the 32-page petition, DEQ wrote that it “cannot grant” the group’s petition. The agency’s letter doesn’t quibble with the groups’ findings, which were detailed in a five-year data collection effort. Instead, the agency suggested that legislation passed in 2021 has tied its hands. “As a result of Senate Bill 358, passed during the 2021 Legislative Session … DEQ is unable to base nutrient assessment upon the numeric nutrient criteria,” the letter, signed by DEQ Director Sonja Nowakowski, reads. In an April 23 conversation with Montana Free Press, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper Executive Director Guy Alsentzer criticized the agency’s decision, arguing that it did not use the best available science and applied “illogical and disingenuous” reasoning in its denial. “EPA already took action and struck down Senate Bill 358 from the 2021 session,” Alsentzer said, referencing federal regulators’ oversight of state laws and rules governing water quality. “Numeric criteria are applicable.”A spokesperson for the EPA confirmed Alsentzer’s assertion, writing in an April 24 email to MTFP that numeric nutrient standards for nitrogen and phosphorus the agency approved a decade ago “remain in effect for Clean Water Act purposes” and will remain so “unless or until the EPA approves the removal of the currently applicable numeric nutrient criteria and approves revised water quality standards.”A DEQ spokesperson did not directly answer MTFP’s questions about what water quality standards DEQ is using to assess Montana waterways and determine whether permittees are complying with state and federal regulations.The agency wrote in an email that no permitted pollution sources under its regulatory oversight are discharging into the Big Hole, suggesting that its enforcement role is limited. The agency also wrote that an impairment designation is not required to implement water quality improvement projects such as creating riparian buffers, improving forest roads, or creating shaded areas. “Watershed partners may begin actively working on nonpoint source pollution reduction projects at any time,” DEQ spokesperson Madison McGeffers wrote to MTFP. “There is nothing standing in the way of starting work on these types of projects to improve water quality. In fact, the Big Hole River Watershed Committee is actively implementing its Watershed Restoration Plan with funds and support from DEQ Nonpoint Source & Wetland Section’s 319 program.”Alsentzer countered that a science-based cleanup plan and greater accountability will benefit the Big Hole regardless of whether nutrients are flowing into the river from a pipe or entering via more diffuse and harder-to-regulate channels.“You can’t get to that if you don’t recognize that you’ve got a problem we need to solve,” he said, adding that an impairment designation “unlocks pass-through funding to the tune of millions of dollars.”Addressing manmade threats to the Big Hole should be a priority for DEQ, given local communities’ economic reliance on a healthy river, he added.“It’s just a real tragic state of affairs when you have a blue-ribbon trout fishery in a very rural county that’s essentially having its livelihood flushed down the drain because we can’t get our agencies to actually implement baseline river protections (and) use science-based standards,” Alsentzer said. “When people try to do the work for the agency and help them, they’re getting told to go pound sand. I think that’s wrong.”Two years ago, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists recorded historically low numbers of brown trout along some stretches of the Big Hole. Anglers and conservationists floated a number of possible contributing factors, ranging from pathogens and drought conditions to angling pressure and unmitigated pollution. Save Wild Trout, a nonprofit formed in 2023 to understand which factors merit further investigation, described the 2023 southwestern Montana fishery “collapse” as a “canary in the coal mine moment.”In response to the 2023 population slump, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced the launch of a multiyear research effort on Jefferson Basin rivers that FWP is coordinating with Montana State University. Narrative Standards For ‘Undesirable Aquatic Life’ DEQ’s letter to Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and the Big Hole River Foundation leaves open the possibility of a future impairment designation based on narrative water quality standards. After mentioning the 2021 legislation, Nowakowski wrote that the agency reviewed the submitted data “along with other readily available data, in consideration of the state’s established narrative criteria.”The letter goes on to outline the additional material petitioners would need to submit for the agency to evaluate an impairment designation using narrative criteria, which establish that surface waters must be “free from substances” that “create conditions which produce undesirable aquatic life.”In an April 22 letter, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and the Big Hole River Foundation addressed the petition denial in two parts. First, the groups argued that numeric nutrient standards apply. Second, they resubmitted material — photos, emails, a macroinvertebrate report, and “Aquatic Plant Visual Assessment Forms” — to support an impairment designation under the looser narrative standards. “We encourage DEQ to do the right thing, use all available science to determine the Big Hole River impaired for nutrients, and commit to working with petitioners and other (stakeholders) in addressing the pollution sources undermining this world-class waterway and harming the diverse uses it supports,” the letter says. Alsentzer noted that he has set up a meeting with the EPA to discuss DEQ’s treatment of the petition and its description of applicable water quality standards.The dispute over numeric nutrient standards comes shortly after the Legislature passed another bill seeking to repeal them. Any day now, Gianforte is expected to sign House Bill 664, which bears a striking similarity to 2021’s Senate Bill 358. HB 664 has garnered support from Nowakowski, who described it as a “time travel” bill that will return the state to “individual, site-by-site” regulations in lieu of more broadly applicable numeric standards. This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

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Behind the Scenes: Communities Around ‘Last-Mile Warehouses’ Struggle With Online Shopping Boom’s Pollution

Online shopping has reached epic proportions in the United States—and Manhattan is its beating heart. More than 2.4 million packages are delivered to New York City every weekday, and around 90 percent of goods are transported into or around the city by trucks.  While shipping may be free for consumers on many of these orders, […]

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