Germany's Autoflug will develop seats for the LimoConnect eVTOL vehicle. (Image: Limosa)
Limosa Enlists BAC Aerospace To Step Up Canadian Certification Process for LimoConnect eVTOL Aircraft
The Montreal-based start-up, which is developing a design for a piloted vehicle that could carry seven passengers up to 150 miles, is looking to select an electric propulsion system supplier.
Limosa has joined forces with BAC Aerospace to begin a campaign leading to type certification from Transport Canada for its planned LimoConnect eight-seat eVTOL aircraft. The Montreal-based start-up is aiming to complete the approval process and launch series production of the aircraft by 2028.
The LimoConnect is being developed for single-pilot operations carrying up to seven passengers in air taxi services, with the option to quickly reconfigure for alternative uses such as emergency medical support or cargo deliveries for flights of up to 150 miles at speeds of 200 mph. Initial design drawings show eight tilting propellers, each with its own electric motor, installed in sets of four on the wing and the extended V-shaped tail section.
In February, Limosa announced a partnership with Netherlands-based composites specialist Airborne, which will build airframes for a pair of technology demonstrators that the companies aim to have ready by the end of 2023. Germany’s Autoflug is also involved in the program and will provide seats for the cabin.
According to Hamid Hamidi, who founded Limosa in June 2021, the LimoConnect will be able to operate in VTOL mode or with conventional takeoffs and landings from a runway. The company has already built a one-10th-scale model of the vehicle.
Hamidi told FutureFlight that Limosa is in talks with prospective partners to develop the LimoConnect’s electric propulsion system. He said that he anticipates that these will feature 120- to 140-kilowatt motors.
To date, Limosa has been largely self-funded with a team of 16 employees. The company is now embarking on a wider campaign to raise capital for the program and aims to secure some support from provincial and national government bodies in Canada.
Engagement with Transport Canada Begins
With BAC Aerospace's support, Limosa recently held a joint program briefing with Transport Canada and says that it is the first Canadian company to begin an eVTOL type certification process. Work is now focused on confirming the G-1 certification basis with the air safety regulator.
From its development center in Montreal, U.S. group Jaunt Air Mobility has signaled its intention to seek type certification for its Journey eVTOL design under Canada's Chapter 529 rules for transport category rotorcraft with support from India-based aerospace engineering group LTTS. Horizon Aircraft says it is working with flight test specialist CertCenterCanada to secure Transport Canada approval for its Cavorite X5 eVTOL aircraft
Ontario-based BAC is led by former Transport Canada aircraft certification official Chris Baczynski, who has worked on multiple type certification programs with manufacturers including Bombardier, Bell Helicopters, and Pratt & Whitney, and also has assisted with Canadian validations of foreign aeronautical products. Prior to joining Transport Canada in 2009, he worked for Bombardier and Orenda Recip, as well as acting as a certification consultant on approximately one hundred supplemental type certification projects.
“We are already underway in supporting the airworthiness certification of LimoConnect,” Baczynski said. “By completing the prototype design with certification requirements in mind, Limosa will avoid the risk of an expensive major redesign later. Being a Canadian company, Limosa is well poised to take advantage of the considerable resources of our domestic aerospace sector and the professionalism and experience of our regulator, Transport Canada Civil Aviation.”
