YORBA LINDA, California — Otto Aviation has finally unveiled its Celera 500L, what company officials call “the most fuel-efficient commercially viable passenger aircraft in the world.”
The full-scale prototype, which has been spotted over the skies of Southern California since 2017, has completed 31 test flights that validate its operating performance goals, according to company officials.
They add that Otto Aviation holds seven patents, “further contributing to the credibility and potential of the aircraft.”
The six-person aircraft has a maximum cruise speed of 450 miles per hour, a range of over 4,500 miles, and an “astounding” fuel economy of 18 to 25 miles per gallon, company officials report.
“The dramatic reduction in fuel consumption makes the Celera 500L the most environmentally friendly airplane in its class and presents a major leap forward in the effort to develop a zero-emission air transportation system,” officials said in a press release.
How does it achieve that reduced fuel consumption?
“The Celera 500L utilizes extensive laminar flow over the fuselage, wings, and tail surfaces to reduce drag and achieve superior aerodynamics, speed, and fuel efficiency,” company officials said. “The manufacturing detail delivers cruise efficiencies unmatched by conventional aircraft while offering a clean-sheet design that will completely alter the way people and parcels travel.”
“Innovation at its core is solving a problem without conventional bias. Our goal was to create a private aircraft that would allow for direct flights between any city pair in the U.S. at speeds and cost comparable to commercial air travel,” said William Otto Sr., chairman and chief scientist of Otto Aviation. “In many cases, individuals and families will be able to charter the Celera 500L at prices comparable to commercial airfares, but with the added convenience of private aviation. We believe when the price of private air travel is competitive with commercial air travel, an enormous market opportunity will result.”
“We believe the Celera 500L is the biggest thing to happen to both the aviation and travel industries in 50 years,” he continued. “Beyond using our aircraft for passenger travel, it can also be used for cargo operations and military applications. Since the results from our prototype test flights have been so promising, we’re ready to bring the Celera 500L to market.”
Otto Aviation has completed its first round of funding and has just opened another.
It has yet to begin the FAA certification process, so it could be years before the first planes are ready for market.
The battery power will improve laminar flow. I want one.
wow bullet plane looks cool and i like it 😃😃
Awesome aircraft. Bring it to Albuquerque we’ll build it. 300 days of sunshine and dry.
Regarding ” It’s the torque into the prop that matters.”, no, it’s the power into the prop that matters. If all it took was torque, put a 100:1 gearbox on a Rotax 912 and save a lot of weight and fuel consumption. It wouldn’t have the altitude capability, but you wouldn’t have any reason to care. Your might even not have to pressurize the plane.
Also, I noticed on the engine maker’s website that the engine produces full power up to 25,000 feet. That’s a critical altitude comparable to a lot of turbocharged engines and not bad, but it seems unlikely that it would produce sufficient power at 50-60,000 feet to keep flying.
Don’t bother me with your fantasy, I have enough problems with my reality!
And, the take off roll is only 300 ft.
4,500 mile range at 25 mpg is 180 gallons of Jet-A, which weighs 1,260+/- pounds (ignoring reserves). Turbine engine will weigh 350 pounds or so, with lots of carbon fiber and honeycomb, they might be able to get the all-up weight down to 2,500 pounds, so lets say 3,000 pounds with one or two people in it. Six people will greatly reduce the performance because the payload is a large percentage of the all-up weight. Avionics are getting much smaller and much lighter. A 3,000 pound airplane with a 550 hp turbine could be very interesting indeed. This will need to be pressurized, so the extra structure will add some weight. Even if they don’t get the exact numbers they want, coming close to them will be a major accomplishment.
How do you see out of the front of this airplane? Seems like there is limited forward and downward vision.
Well if it is going to be that high and that fast, it will be a turbine of some sort. These numbers are marginally plausible if the designers paid maniacal attention to drag and weight reduction. Frontal area has to be small as well. The skinny wings tells me fuel is in the fuselage (ugh). No windows for the back four passengers (yet), kinda claustrophobic. If they even get close to the advertised numbers, you can bet the experimental crowd will “borrow” some of their ideas and techniques, and we might get a 250 mph two seater powered by a Rotax or Jabiru. Lots of horsepower, very low drag, very low weight . . . maybe.
(BTW, The X-1 shape was patterned after a .50 cal machine gun round.)
What kind and what HP does this interesting airplane have? If it was stated in the article I must have missed it, thanks!
the ‘Otto ‘ website indicates that it uses a ‘RED A03 turbo , V-12 diesel rated at 500-600 HP at FL500. see https://red-aircraft.com/
Diesels will have miss-leading low HP due to the low rpm they operate at. It’s the torque into the prop that matters.
As they stated, it is a prototype, so no windows and the actual aircraft will be larger.
It will be interesting to see if this becomes a ‘real’ aircraft , in production.
“misleading”
Another chase for the $20m business jet market. Not much use to non billionaires.
My thoughts exactly. My thinking is that it will cost a modest fortune and really only look different, while relying on the same engines and avionics that everything else does. I mean, I genuinely doubt this little company can afford to do anything more than force a new aircraft type certificate through the inefficient and ineffective FAA. If they are successful, they will sell a handful to the “look at me” multi-millionaire crowd, while the rest of the rich and fabulous continue to climb aboard their Citations, Premiers, and baby Gulfstreams.
Meanwhile, the remainder of us mere mortals will continue to choose between aircraft that are (more and more often) older than we are OR shiny, new versions of those same (50 and 60 year old designs) designs that more than half a million dollars, OR even more expensive new designs (that still rely on engines that haven’t dramatically changed in the better part of a century).
Man, it’s a great time to be in aviation… if you are so rich you don’t have to ask what it costs.
Should be renamed the Hyperbole.
I don’t have the expertise to judge, but would welcome comments as to the following from those experienced in aircraft design:
— As shown in prototype, it seems like a lot of airplane on a small wing.
— What could stall behaviour and recovery look like in this aircraft?
— The CG and wing seem very far aft (due to the heavy engine, pusher configuration) – what are the handling effects of this?
I’d be interested in learning more…
The Piaggio Avaini has been flying for 8+ years.
see; https://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/turboprops/piaggio-p180-avanti-ii/
Twin P&W and a canard, but a similar shape.
If history is repeating itself the Bell X-1 was the shape of a bullet a .38 if memory serves, as it could exceed the mach number. So it would make sense that this design would follow the same aerodynamics. Just not mach speed . form and function.
The Supermarine Spitfire had a 1,470 hp engine and a maximum speed of 370 mph.
The TBM 900, which is currently the fastest single-engine turboprop aircraft, has an 850 hp engine and a maximum speed of 380 mph.
The Celera has a 550 hp engine and a claimed cruise speed of 450 mph. Color me skeptical.
The only aircraft that comes close in design is the Piaggio P.180 Avanti,, with 2 x 850 hp P&W and 460 mph.
Time will tell if their specs. are real.
It is a great looking aircraft, sort of a mega- imp [ ie; Molt Taylor mini-imp pusher ].
And for the Piaggio, 460 mph is the maximum speed. The Avanti’s cruise speed is 366 mph.
The Piaggio performance specs list cruise as; 256 kts to 400 kts, depending on fuel, pax and range.
There was another article awhile back
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/28409/the-mysterious-and-potentially-revolutionary-celera-500l-aircraft-may-fly-soon
that said:
“The patent goes on to describe a notional aircraft that would cruise between 460 and 510 miles per hour at an altitude of up to 65,000 feet, yielding a fuel efficiency rate of between 30 and 42 miles per gallon.”
Twice as high as a TBM (service ceiling 31,000 ft). I actually think they’re not lying. Whether or not they can get it certified before they run out of money…. that’s the part I’m skeptical about but I wish them well.