American company develops propeller-less aircraft with speed of nearly 1,000km/h

Jetoptera is developing a plane that can glide faster than passenger jets using a unique wing design.

Jetoptera does not use propellers to create thrust like conventional aircraft. (Photo: Jetoptera)

Jetoptera , a Seattle-based company's advanced propellerless vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft , demonstrated a Mach 0.8 (600 mph) speed during testing, faster than the Boeing Dreamliner and twice as fast as tilt-wing designs. The company shared the data after completing its fourth Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with the U.S. Air Force, Interesting Engineering reported on January 17.

Instead of an electric compressor, the company uses a gas turbine engine that routes the exhaust through a liquid propulsion system (FPS) . The compressed air is routed through small slots around the inner surface of the hollow thruster. According to Jetoptera, the system provides 10 percent more thrust and uses 50 percent less fuel than a small turbofan engine. It is 30 percent lighter and much less mechanically complex than a turbofan. The Jetoptera design is also up to 25 percent quieter than a similarly sized turbofan.

Jetoptera says it has built a small-scale model of its design as part of the AFWERX HSVTOL program , which brings together 11 companies to design a next-generation military VTOL aircraft that could be much more efficient than anything on the market today. The small model is being tested in a wind tunnel and can reach speeds of Mach 0.8 (988 km/h).

The aircraft design will be evaluated over the next six months. Jetoptera hopes to have a test version operational by 2025.