World's First
VTOL Seaplane
The Seahorse H8 (SH8) is a four-seater, multi-rotor VTOL, boasting an unprecedented combination of performance specifications: a 450 km range, 3-hour flight time at a speed of 150 km/h. These capabilities open up a world of new possibilities for passenger transportation, setting the SH8 apart as a true game-changer.
Developed by Seahorse Air Limited (SAL), a joint venture between Flowcopter, UK and Evdron, Singapore, the SH8 is an advanced amphibious Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) craft. It is designed to transform transportation in coastal, island, water-inundated, and challenging terrains such as snow-covered regions. SAL plans to develop and operate the SH8 as a global "micro-airline" service with regional partners/operators. Its applications extend far beyond passenger transport, including air ambulance, air cargo delivery, search & rescue operations, and even joy rides.
Its VTOL capabilities allow for take-offs and landings with almost zero infrastructure—just a small deck, patch of land, or body of water is required. Powered by two sets of patented hydraulic propulsion systems, each powered by a Rotax engine, the SH8 ensures one engine failure redundancy amongst many other safety features.
The SH8 is a pioneer in Maritime Air Mobility (MAM), ushering in a new era where air, land, and water mobility converge effortlessly.
SeaHorse H8
A VTOL Seaplane
Sea . Air . Land
Specifications: -Range: 3 hours, 450 km -Speed: 150 km/h -Max Take-Off Weight (MTOW): 1200 Kg -Payload Capacity: 350 Kg. Pilot plus 3 passengers plus two “cabin” bags and smaller handbags. -Rotors: 4 sets of co-axial rotors (total 8 rotors). -Propulsion System: Patented “digital displacement hydraulic transmission technology” developed by Flowcopter. The SH8 uses 2 sets of this system in parallel, where each power-pack is connected to 4 of the 8 hydraulic motors. The hydraulic pumps are powered by Rotax engines. -Safety: VTOL specific Seats, airbags, seat-belts, and life vests -Redundancy: The craft can survive failure of any one of the two complete systems. -Partial “thrust vectoring” without tilting the cabin. -Patent pending for a unique feature in the design that makes the SH8 safe and noise free by moving the propulsion system out of the fuselage and into the floats. -Can move on water with the rotors or can even use an underwater propeller. -Take-off/Landing: Capable from both water and land.
SH8 features a patent pending partial “thrust vectoring” without tilting the cabin.
Why is it required?
You may have noticed that the only way your small multi rotor drones fly is by tilting in the direction it needs to move. And faster it needs to go, the greater is the tilt. Now imagine what the passengers will go through if we had to travel like this.
Many of the current leaders have chosen a sophisticated but extremely complex and even dangerous method of tilting each motor for vertical or forward movement. The fact that even after years of trials, there are very few examples of confident transitions of this mechanism.
We made it simple. We tilt the entire rotor cluster, its the structure that holds all the rotors above the fuselage. By doing so, we allow the rotor cluster to pivot at the CG point (CG in Plan) so that the cabin and the rest of the craft remains level. no matter if SH8 is on the ground, hover, cruise etc. This has many advantages, but from a safety point of view, its excellent because if at any stage, even if the tilting actuators stop working, all that will happen is the fuselage will be at a slight angle.
We are mindful of the fact that the SH8 might need to be parked in high numbers, at either a busy Vertiport in the night, or surely at the production line. Therefore the SH8 is designed to fold, reducing the width to almost half.
Following videos show the folding, as well as few other features considered in the design.
Sustainability
The only reason SH8 is not electric is because the power density of batteries is too low as yet.
However, we arguably still have a much smaller operational carbon footprint than electric and here's how.
The argument of electric vs IC engines wins hands-down only with automobiles on roads since in IC engines most of the fuel is burning to keep the engine on and not necessarily to move the car efficiently. But in the air there's no energy wasted. Further, consider this:
Net Zero
The Rotax engine powering our system is compatible to be used with ethanol which is a fuel that can achieve Net Zero emissions.
Our design is such that when the power density in a battery increases to mitigate the 2 issues highlighted next, we'll simply swap our IC engine with an electric system to power the same hydraulics.
Charging
Electric cars give a range of 400-1000km per charge which could take a week to a month to use up, depending on how you drive it.
eVTOLs give a range of 20mins to 1-2 hours max. So the amount of charging required daily makes it fairly power intensive which too has a large carbon footprint.
Discarding Batteries
The batteries in electric cars need to be replaced after 5 years or so. For Air mobility, these need to be replaced monthly or every few month. Because if they're charged after every 30mins or so, they'll exhaust the life cycles quickly and need to be replaced often. Consider the annual eWaste and the carbon footprint of producing new batteries.
For this industry. "e" is just not a holistic solution, yet.
Founders
SAL has an experienced founding team that manages their respective work teams in the joint venture.
Seahorse Air Limited
3.3, Edgefield Industrial Estate, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH20 9TB United Kingdom