Not our first rodeo: successful first flight of X2.2 drone prototype

Dufour Aerospace has developed several prototypes of its Aero2 drone. The third generation prototype – known internally as X2.2 – successfully completed its maiden flight in Dübendorf in June. After intensive technical adjustments and preparatory work, the flight test team, led by Daniel Bazzani, Lead Engineer Flight Test, was able to carry out the first short hover tests in optimal conditions.

"It was very satisfying to see that the intensive preparatory work with the simulator and our risk reduction testing with our smaller platform paid off in full," Bazzani said. "X2.2 showed stable hover behaviour from the first moment and the predictable handling qualities made piloting easy for me. We will steadily work towards full transition from vertical takeoff in the coming weeks and I am confident that we will make great progress."

There's a certain amount of nervousness at the airfield for every maiden flight, even though Dufour Aerospace is now well acquainted with the flight behaviour of tilt wing aircraft. Those natural nerves went away though, after the completion of the first test.

X2.2 primarily serves as a test aircraft for experiencing the full flight envelope with more load on the structure and also for further testing of automated flight functions with the help of the Dufour Aerospace Flight Control System. This system is built in-house by our technology team, led by our CTO and Co-Founder, Jasmine Kent.

But, that's not all. Dufour Aerospace is already working feverishly on the construction of the fourth prototype, called X2.3, which will then serve as a test vehicle for hybrid propulsion and payload integration. Dufour has selected Suter Industries to provide its hybrid propulsion system, and you can read more about why we believe hybrid propulsion is the way forward. Dufour Aerospace expects the first flight of the X2.3 to take place during Q1 2024. This will be a key step towards the delivery of the first serial aircraft, scheduled for 2025.