Aircraft
Team
September 25, 2024
We are excited to announce that Dufour Aerospace has relocated part of our office space to UZH’s Space Hub and the Innovation Park Zurich. This move represents a new chapter in our journey, highlighting our dedication to innovation and collaboration.
September 4, 2024
This week, Dufour Aerospace carried out a series of customer demonstrations and tests in Sweden. The flights took place att he Västervik airfield in Sweden, supported by the Västervik Drone Science Park and Savback, one of our strategic partners. It was the first deployment of Dufour’s newly created Operations Team. The AeroMini10, Dufour's small-sized test and validation platform, proved its worth in real-world flying.
July 2, 2024
Today, Dufour Aerospace, the innovative Swiss drone and eVTOL company, announced the appointment of Sascha Hardegger as Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2024. Hardegger succeeds Thomas Pfammatter, a co-founder of the company who led it as CEO for seven successful years. Pfammatter will continue to serve as Head of Strategy, and as a member of the Board of Directors.
July 1, 2024
We are thrilled to announce a major milestone in our journey with our tilt-wing aircraft: the successful completion of the first ground testing of our latest Aero2 prototype, internally called “X2.3”. This achievement brings us one step closer to our much expected first flight and highlights the incredible progress our team has made.
April 3, 2024
In the dynamic realm of aerospace engineering, the wind tunnel serves as a crucible of truth, where the fate of aircraft programs hangs in the balance. Recently, the Dufour Aerospace Flight Physics team embarked on an exhaustive exploration of the aerodynamic characteristics of tilt-wing V/STOL aircraft.
March 22, 2024
Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin’s decision to build a hybrid tilt-wing technology demonstrator is a significant step forward for eVTOL aircraft. We are in a unique position to say this, as Dufour Aerospace has been designing, building, and testing tilt-wing aircraft for many years.
March 13, 2024
The Aero2 is Dufour’s innovative unmanned drone. The entry into service product is intended to be automated, allowing an operator to manage the Aero2 mission from a ground station console. We spoke with Daniel Bazzani, Lead Engineer for Flight Test at Dufour Aerospace, to explore how new Dufour Aerospace customers will operate this state-of-the-art drone aircraft.
February 28, 2024
A Swiss-Austrian consortium will test large-area laser scanning applications in the Swiss Alps, using innovative drones. The partners are Dufour Aerospace, RIEGL, BSF Swissphoto and the SLF, who will collaborate for a series of test flights over several months.
February 15, 2024
Dufour Aerospace is pleased to announce the selection of WAG Wernli AG to manufacture composite brackets. WAG Wernli is a Swiss-based designer and manufacturer of fiber-reinforced plastic molded parts.
February 12, 2024
The Aero2’s 40 kilogram payload capacity sparks curiosity. Why such a specific number? What advantages does the Aero2 offer over lighter or heavier drones? To understand, let's consider the world of critical cargo delivery and the unique capabilities of the Aero2.
January 22, 2024
Jacob Cook comes to Dufour Aerospace from NASA Langley Research Center, where he led the development of modelling and control techniques for NASA’s eVTOL aircraft. At Dufour, he’s our Flight Controls Lead Engineer and specialist in eVTOL aircraft dynamics, control, and automation — where our aircraft are designed to fly missions with less input from the pilot or operator. We sat down with Jacob to talk about automation in eVTOL and on the strides taken by Dufour in this regard.
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December 21, 2023
There's a buzz at Dufour Aerospace's hangar in Dübendorf, near Zurich. All around are Aero2 aircraft, iron birds, a busy team, testing, composite parts, blinking lights, computer displays, and even a famous aviator and astronaut or two. Above all, there’s a palpable energy at Dufour.
December 1, 2023
It's not every day that we get to host figures like Claude Nicollier, Switzerland's first astronaut, and Thomas Reiter, a German space pioneer. Their visit to our headquarters this Tuesday was thrilling for our team, bringing together the worlds of aeronautics and astronautics.
November 23, 2023
Convertible VTOL aircraft are revolutionizing aviation, and tilt-wings are by far the most safe and efficient convertible VTOL aircraft. However, sometimes we come across the misperception that "tilt-wing aircraft are uncertifiable." So we would like to take a moment to show that not only are tilt-wing aircraft fully certifiable, but indeed you may be surprised to learn that you have already flown on a certified tilt-wing aircraft.
November 16, 2023
The Danish company Copenhagen Helicopter and their partner Copenhagen AirTaxi - both based at Roskilde Airport - have signed a letter of intent with Dufour Aerospace for a conditional order to purchase the Aero2 UAV for cargo and aerial work and the Aero3 for passenger transportation. The aim is to strengthen their initiatives to introduce environmentally friendly and efficient transportation in Denmark and the neighbouring countries of Germany, Sweden and Norway.
November 8, 2023
The beautiful elliptical wings pictured here are reminiscent of the famed Spitfire of yesteryear. But here, it’s the Aero1 – the world’s first all-electric aerobatic aircraft, officially presented to the world in 2016, and a test platform for Dufour Aerospace.
November 1, 2023
It’s a long way from Zurich to Oregon, but the Dufour Aerospace Aero2 X2.2 demonstrator aircraft recently made the trip. It’s another milestone on this journey with Dufour and U.S.-based drone operator Spright. The pre-production experimental drone was delivered this month to the United States.
September 14, 2023
Dufour Aerospace is pleased to announce that the German electric propulsion system manufacturer Plettenberg has been selected as a supplier for the tail thruster propulsion unit of the uncrewed tilt-wing aircraft Aero2.
September 1, 2023
The Swiss Federal Office for Defence Procurement (armasuisse), represented by the Swiss Drone and Robotics Centre of the Science and Technology branch, has engaged Dufour Aerospace, the Swiss-based tilt-wing aircraft manufacturer, for a design study.
August 10, 2023
On a sunny day in Dübendorf in July 2023, the Dufour Aerospace X2.2 prototype of the uncrewed Aero2 aircraft successfully demonstrated full transition from vertical take-off to horizontal cruise. This is the third prototype from Dufour Aerospace that demonstrates the outstanding aerodynamic qualities of Dufour’s innovative tilt-wing design. And, Spright, the launch customer for Aero2, will soon receive a second X2.2 prototype. This prototype is currently being completed and will undergo tests including system, ground and flight tests. This unit will serve as a demonstrator in the U.S. beginning in October.
March 23, 2023
Today, Dufour Aerospace, the innovative Swiss eVTOL company, and Swiss Helicopter AG, Switzerland’s leading helicopter company, announced that they have signed a Letter of Intent for the purchase of two Aero2 and one Aero3 tilt-wing aircraft.
March 22, 2023
Another milestone in the development of Aero2. In early March, Dufour Aerospace put the hybrid unit, consisting of a two-cylinder engine from Suter Industries, a generator from Plettenberg and our own digital control hardware, into operation for the first time on its own test bench. Some further optimisation and testing work still remains to be done before the drive can then be installed on the Aero2 X2.3 prototype.
January 23, 2023
Today, Dufour Aerospace AG announced that it successfully completed a Series B investment from Vista Global Holding Limited (Vista), the world’s leading global private aviation group, further supporting the continued development of sustainable aviation technologies.
November 4, 2022
Today, Spright, the drone division of Air Methods, the leading provider of helicopter emergency medical services, and Dufour Aerospace, the innovative Swiss eVTOL company, announced the purchase by Spright of 40 Aero2 with options for additional 100 aircraft.
October 5, 2022
Dufour Aerospace AG and RUAG AG today announced they will begin cooperation on the development of Aero2. The partnership is intended to develop into a long-term strategic partnership in the field of development, manufacture and maintenance of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) and components.
July 26, 2022
Elsight and Dufour Aerospace are proud to announce they have successfully completed their first end-to-end drone trials with the Halo drone connectivity solution onboard, in conjunction with Oblivion Aerial.
April 6, 2022
Dufour Aerospace, an innovative Swiss eVTOL company, is establishing a base of operations in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The company is developing the next generation of eVTOL aircraft, with a focus on the air ambulance market.
April 4, 2022
Blueberry Aviation, the global commercial aircraft and helicopter specialists, and Dufour Aerospace, a cutting edge Swiss eVTOL company, have signed a global partnership agreement. Under this agreement Blueberry Aviation will provide marketing advisory and placement support to Dufour Aerospace. Blueberry Aviation will be Dufour’s privileged partner for helicopter trade-in and will set up financial tools to fund or lease Dufour products. In addition, Blueberry Aviation will acquire 100 Aero2 and 100 Aero3 products from Dufour Aerospace.
January 11, 2022
Savback Helicopters, the expanding helicopter sales and marketing company and Dufour Aerospace, an innovative Swiss eVTOL company, announced Savback’s appointment as distributor for Dufour’s innovative eVTOL aircraft.
November 4, 2021
Swiss-based eVTOL development and production company Dufour Aerospace today launched the Aero2 as its first commercially available product in their tilt-wing eVTOL family. Aero2 is designed as amulti-purpose small unmanned aircraft with an unmatched operational flexibility and low operating cost. With a payload of up to 40 kg (88 lbs), a maximum take-off weight of 150 kg (330 lbs) and a maximum flight time of three hours in standard configuration, it is suitable for a wide variety of customer applications.
August 18, 2021
The Swiss aircraft development and production company Dufour Aerospace confirms its commitment on the development of a tilt-wing VTOL product family, the flagship product Aero3 featuring a projected cruise speed of 350 km/h (189 knots) and 1020 km (551 nautical miles) range.
October 14, 2020
This research platform has not been optimized for noise emissions. Nonetheless, we think it is interesting to hear the character of the noise it produces, and we would like to share some footage of a full transition flight with audio.
ABOUT:
With over 30 years of experience in Swiss commercial helicopter operations, we understand the real world requirements of VTOL aircraft. Our engineering team with years of aircraft construction experience is building aircrafts for rugged operations in harsh environments. Our patented combination of proven aerodynamic concepts with the latest technology makes our aircraft rock solid with unparalleled performance.
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