Pipistrel and Honeywell collaborate on aircraft technologies for urban air mobility

Pipistrel and Honeywell have signed a memorandum of understanding that will bring both companies together on the exploration and development of solutions for the urban air mobility market.

As part of their collective effort, the companies will work together to integrate Honeywell avionics, navigation, flight control systems connectivity, and other beneficial products and services onto a future Pipistrel vertical takeoff and landing air vehicle to support fully autonomous operations in the future.

"This is the beginning of a long-term relationship to collectively pursue the future of urban air mobility," said Ivo Boscarol, Founder and President of Pipistrel. "Honeywell's expertise in integrated avionics and flight control systems, systems integration, certification and manufacturing, combined with our capabilities in designing and developing advanced light aircraft, makes us the perfect pairing to advance the urban air mobility market. Pipistrel was chosen to be one of Uber's vehicle development partners for their urban mobility solution, and our VTOL features next generation propulsion technology for achieving embedded lift. We have the concept which unlocks cost-attractive eVTOL opportunity by addressing efficiency and noise hurdles in vehicle lift, hover, and cruise stages of flight."

Honeywell possesses more than 100 years of experience pioneering aircraft technologies across every application from commercial airliners to military platforms. This century of expertise and a wealth of technology innovation in avionics, navigation, propulsion and more has positioned Honeywell to effectively collaborate with Pipistrel on defining a future for the emerging urban air mobility space.

"The urban air mobility market is a challenging space, but one that Honeywell is well positioned to support and grow," said Carl Esposito, president, Electronic Solutions. "Companies looking to make breakthroughs in urban air mobility face a wide range of technical, safety, certification and business challenges that come with developing a new mode of travel in an already very dense air traffic environment. An understanding of the aerospace complexities and legacy of innovative technologies can make all the difference in addressing this emerging market. Pipistrel is a well-known leader in the light-aircraft space, and this is an excellent opportunity to support its vision of a future vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with our industry-leading avionics, flight control systems, and other potential products and services."