There are a number of pretty major drawbacks when it comes to aircraft with traditional propulsion. The two biggest: they inherently guzzle gas (as it takes a lot of power to get them off the ground) and they’re extremely loud. Kitty Hawk seems to have found a solution for both with their latest endeavor, the Heaviside.
Intended primarily for recreational use, this single-seater aircraft boasts a total of eight all-electric motors — six on the wings and two beside the nose. They allow the Heaviside to hover as low as three feet above the ground but can also propel it through the sky. And while their all-electric power is definitely a big plus, especially to those with ecological concerns, the other highlight is that, in flight, the motors only produce 38 decibels of sound. For reference, traditional helicopters produce 60 or more. And that makes the Heaviside virtually silent when compared to traditional aircraft. It’s still in the testing phase, but Kitty Hawk could be on the road to changing air travel forever and for the better.
