Triumph & Jaunt Partner To Design, Develop, Certify, & Build Full-Scale Demonstrator

November 2, 20195 years ago Nicolas Zart 0 Comments

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It’s been a little while since I’ve written about the incredible Jaunt Air Mobility adventure, and after intensive interviews with the team, I’m happy to report a deal with key aviation player Triumph Group.

NBAA-BACE 2019 UAM Jaunt Air Mobility Display. Photo: Nicolas Zart — Jaunt Air Mobility display at NBAA-BACE 2019. Photo by Nicolas Zart.

Jaunt Air Mobility (Jaunt) and the Triumph Group (Triumph) announced at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) they would cooperate to design, build, and certify a full-scale demonstrator (prototype?) aircraft.

This puts Jaunt in an enviable position, as it continues to gather momentum attracting just the right partners. The news means an aviation heavyweight is lending its weight to one of the biggest potential electric urban air mobility (UAM) startups, Jaunt Air Mobility.

Is It A Plane? Is It A Bird? No, It’s A Jaunt!

NBAA-BACE 2019 UAM Jaunt Air Mobility & Triumph Photo: Nicolas Zart — Jaunt Air Mobility CEO Kaydon Stanzione and Pete Wick, Executive Vice President of Aerospace Structures at Triumph Group, sign their development agreement. Photo by Nicolas Zart.

I’ve wanted to write that fun subheading since I first saw the Jaunt concept. A better way to ask the question would be, Is a helicopter? Is it a plane? No, it’s that and so much more.

Triumph designs, engineers, and manufactures aircraft, and also overhauls and repairs many of the airplanes we fly. Its expertise lies also with components and structure, something that will come in handy for the Jaunt project. The deal with Triumph puts Jaunt on the radar as one of the few electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) startups getting closer to flying.

Kayden Stanzione, Jaunt CEO, and Pete Wick, Executive Vice President of Triumph Aerospace Structures, told me that the Jaunt demonstrator should be up in the air by 2023, with certification following. The agreement goes a step further by saying Triumph will provide engineering and manufacturing services in support of Jaunt’s intriguing aircraft.

Jaunt’s unique Reduced Rotor Operating Speed Aircraft, or ROSA, is technically a slowed rotor compound (SR/C) system it bought from Carter Aviation last year. This makes the Jaunt highly efficient in all flying modes.

The aircraft is so unique it has taken me a few months of gathering data and various conversations with the company to wrap my head around the aircraft. Essentially, Jaunt is creating the best of both worlds, a helicopter with fixed-wing capacity. There will be more to follow as I compile the information into a series of articles. I have to give special thanks to Martin Peryea, Jaunt Chief Technology Officer, an inexhaustible fountain of rotor knowledge. His patience indulging me in my gyrocopter neophyte questions has been inspiring.

Stanzione said: “Working with our other partners, Triumph will help bring our ROSA technology to market. Triumph’s experience in airframe development, usage of advanced thermoplastics in primary structure, and expansive manufacturing capabilities are essential for bringing Jaunt’s eVTOL to market in a timely, safe, and affordable manner.”

Pete Wick added: “We are excited to begin our eVTOL journey as a partner with Jaunt in support of their new air vehicle concept. We believe Triumph’s experience in platform development through certification and into high rate production, utilizing our proprietary thermoplastic technologies, will enable Jaunt to be the leader in the revolutionary market — located right here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex.”

What Triumph lends to Jaunt’s already impressive equation is how it will optimize weight, cost, and producibility of the program. I will be interviewing Pete Wick this week for more on the future of Triumph and Jaunt.

It was impressive to see such a renowned aviation manufacturer put its weight — no pun intended — behind the Jaunt concept at NBAA. It sends a clear message that aviation shakers are recognizing that the electric urban air mobility (UAM) industry is maturing. Stay tuned as I develop more stories around the Jaunt aircraft soon.