The Celera 500L fuel-efficient ‘bullet’ plane features a five-bladed pushing propeller mounted behind the tail, which is powered by a Raiklin Aircraft Engine RED A03 engine certified to operate on Jet A1 or biodiesel.
According to the firm, the bullet shape of the Celera helps to reduce drag drastically, by allowing the air to flow smoothly over the surface of the aircraft. This allows for the plane to operate with less power, meaning that it burns less fuel, the company said.
Image credit: Otto Aviation
The start-up fitted the prototype with mechanically linked controls – the reason for using such controls for the baseline configuration was to reduce complexity and overall programme risk, aircraft designer Bill Otto said.
Otto and his company believe that the design, with its teardrop “laminar...