Savback Helicopters, the expanding helicopter sales and marketing company and Dufour Aerospace, an innovative Swiss eVTOL company, have announced Savback’s appointment as distributor for Dufour’s innovative eVTOL aircraft. Sweden-based Savback Helicopters will exclusively represent Dufour Aerospace’s eight-seater Aero3 tilt-wing aircraft in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland.
“We strongly believe that Dufour Aerospace’s eight-seater Aero3 provides options for both today’s helicopter market, as well as new use cases which its cutting-edge technology opens up for us,” said Reja Savbäck, CEO of Savback Helicopters.
The agreement with Dufour Aerospace demonstrates the confidence that Savback Helicopters have in the future of eVTOL, and the advantages to be gained from being an early mover in the urban air mobility sector, worth an estimated US$1.5 trillion (£1.1 trillion) by 2040 according to Morgan Stanley. Savback Helicopters has built up an enviable reputation with over 30 years of experience selling helicopters and provides a significant knowledge of user cases and market prospects coming into the vertical lift market.
The tilt-wing design of Dufour Aerospace’s aircraft family combines the ability to take-off and land vertically like a helicopter with the efficiency and speed of a conventional aircraft. The Aero3 has a maximum take-off weight of 2800kg (6173 lbs), useable weight of 750kg (1653 lbs), maximum speed of 350 km/h (189 knots) and a range of 1020 km (551 nm). The aircraft is being designed to meet EASA’s SC-VTOL (Special Condition for VTOL) standards, making use of a hybrid electric propulsion system to meet the requirements of operators in multi platforms.
