TECHNOLOGY
JET ENGINES
ZAPATA partnered with ONERA – The French Aerospace Lab and Agence de l’Innovation de Défense to design and build our own turbojet engines, focusing mainly on three aspects: redundancy, efficiency, and service intervals (Time Between Overhaul).
In addition to powering VTOL platforms, our TZR engines can be used for a variety of use cases such as drones or long-range missiles.
HYBRID POWER
In order to come up with a mass market compatible flying machine, we had to design a propulsion system which featured both flight performance and low carbon footprint.
The energy density offered by current battery technology doesn’t allow for sufficient flight utility, which is why we decided to develop a patented hybrid powertrain
Thanks to this unique feature, the AirScooter can boast the longest flight time & range of its class.
FLIGHT CONTROLLERS
They are the brains of our flying machines. Developed in house, our flight controllers translate inputs from the pilot into thrust instructions to the propulsion system.
All our machines feature 3 flight controllers and a patented distributed arbitration system for maximal safety. Each flight controller has its own computer, inertial navigation unit and GPS sensors. It manages the aircraft’s heading, speed, and altitude at a rate of a 100 times per second.
SUSTAINABLE FUELS
We are partnering with ETS Innovation to develop a sustainable fuel solution for the AirScooter.
Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are renewable waste-derived fuels that meets sustainability criteria. Using SAF results in an impressive reduction of up to 80% in carbon emissions over the lifecycle of the fuel (compared to the traditional fuel it replaces).
