Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

Science & Technology Editor

Airbus has partnered with two German automotive industry players to design the rear structure of its new CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL&nbsp;aircraft. KLK Motorsport and Modell- und Formenbau Blasius Gerg will work together to design, develop, and manufacture an ultra-lightweight rear fuselage for the CityAirbus NextGen air taxi, the company announced last week.
The all-electric <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/cityairbus-nextgen">CityAirbus NextGen</a>&nbsp;eVTOL, unveiled by the European aerospace group in September 2021, is a four-passenger, fixed-wing passenger aircraft intended mainly for urban air mobility applications. It features a V-shaped tail with eight sets of electric motors and propellers, boasts a range of 50 miles (80 kilometers), and can reach maximum speeds of up to 75 mph (120 km/h). Although the air taxi will be equipped with an automated flight mode, it will be piloted initially—at least until the urban air mobility market matures, the company has said.
KLK Motorsport and Gerg have worked with Airbus in the past, designing a carbon-fiber canopy for Airbus Helicopters' Rapid and Cost-Efficient Rotorcraft, better known as <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2022-03-07/airbus-racer-pace-2022-first-flight">Racer</a>. Both companies also have experience working on Formula E and Formula One race cars. The team will use that expertise to develop a highly efficient airframe for the CityAirbus NextGen, Airbus officials said.
"The partnership with KLK Motorsport and Gerg will provide CityAirbus NextGen with a fully integrated, ultra-lightweight rear fuselage. Directly interacting with the center fuselage and the wing, the rear structure will leverage both suppliers' expertise in homogeneous design for FormulaE and Formula One vehicles, while complying with the most stringent safety and reliability standards," said Joerg Mueller, head of Urban Air Mobility at Airbus.
KLK Motorsport and Gerg are the latest of several companies to join Airbus in its urban air mobility efforts. Just last month, Airbus announced that it had <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-05-10/magicall-supply-electric-motors-cityairbus-nextgen-evtol-aircraft">selected Magicall</a>, a California-based company, to supply the aircraft's electric motors. Kansas-based <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-03-10/spirit-aerosystems-will-make-wings-cityairbus-nextgen-evtol-aircraft">Spirit Aerosystems</a> has agreed to develop and manufacture the aircraft's wings, and the European avionics group <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-11-18/thales-and-diehl-sign-cityairbus-nextgen-evtol-program-partners">Thales and Diehl</a> will develop the aircraft's flight control computers.&nbsp;
Airbus aims to achieve the first flight of a CityAirbus NextGen prototype in 2023, and the company expects to receive <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2021-11-15/easa-certification-cityairbus-nextgen-expected-2025">EASA type certification by 2025</a>.

Hanneke Weitering

The rear fuselage of the CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL aircraft will be designed by German automotive companies KLK Motorsport and Gerg GmbH. (Image: Airbus)

Airbus Picks German Automotive Partners to Design CityAirbus NextGen Air Taxi's Rear Fuselage

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