NASA researchers completed a full-scale crash test of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) concept vehicle at the agency’s Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The eVTOL was a ‘Lift+Cruise’ test article developed by the Revolutionary Vertical Left Technology (RVLT) project. The test is the latest effort by NASA to advance research that will help ensure safety in the next generation of aircraft electric microplanes and helicopters that carry a small number of passengers across short distances. The craft was hoisted into the air, then released with pyrotechnic cutters, the model swung forward and down back to the Earth with a loud crash. “The test was a great success for the crash-worthiness team at Langley,” said Justin Littell, research assistant for Langley’s Structural Dynamics Branch. “We successfully tested the eVTOL vehicle concept representing a six-passenger, high wing, overhead mass, multiple rotor vehicle, obtaining more than 200 channels of data, and collecting over 20 onboard and off-board camera views.” Experiments included several seat configurations including a NASA energy absorbing concept as well as tests on various sizes of crash test dummies to study the effects of the crash loads on all sizes of occupants, and a modular NASA-developed energy-absorbing composite subfloor. The test data will be used to refine modeling techniques and reported those working on similar craft to help with their designs and simulation models. It will also be used as the basis for evaluating potential test conditions and configurations for another similar test, tentatively scheduled for late 2023.
