The Potentially Revolutionary Celera 500L Aircraft Officially Breaks Cover

By Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway

Updated Nov 27, 2020 6:27 PM EST

Otto Aviation’s Celera 500L has officially come out of the shadows and the company has now outlined its vision for the potentially revolutionary high-efficiency aircraft, including possible unmanned variants and military versions configured for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. The War Zone

was first to report on this unusual bullet-shaped plane after it was first spotted at the Southern California Logistics Airport near Victorville in 2017 and has been following its secretive development very closely ever since .

The announcement, which appears to be the first official statement from Otto Aviation on the Celera 500L to date, has coincided with the launch of a new website promoting the aircraft. The press release did not provide specific details about the aircraft’s first flight or when it occurred, but says it has flown 31 times in total, so far.

In June 2019, the plane, which carries the U.S. civil registration code N818WM, was observed conducting what appeared to be taxi tests on the ground at the Southern California Logistics Airport, indicating that it could take to the skies soon afterward. The website says that it hit an “aerodynamic efficiency proven” milestone in the fourth quarter of 2019.

“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,” William Otto Sr., the Chairman and Chief Scientist of Otto Aviation, said in a statement. “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 says the Celera 500L had a maximum cruising speed of at least 450 miles per hour and a range of over 4,500 miles. It also has impressive fuel economy, achieving 18 and 25 miles per gallon, according to Otto Aviation. A traditional business jet with similar capabilities to the Celera 500L, including its six-passenger capacity, typically burn a gallon of fuel for every two to three miles of flight, making Otto’s design dramatically more economical, as well as more environmentally friendly. The company says that the Celera 500L will have an unbelievably low per-hour flight cost of just $328.

This and aircraft’s other notable performance characteristics are made possible in large part due to its highly aerodynamic overall laminar flow shape, which produces approximately 59 percent less drag than existing similar-sized, more conventionally-shaped aircraft. Its high-efficiency Raikhlin Aircraft Engine Developments (RED) A03 V12 piston engine is another important part of the equation. The A03 has a multi-stage turbocharger and can run on Jet A1 fuel, as well as kerosene or biodiesel.

Germany-based RED touts the engine as a very high-efficiency design with low fuel consumption and very good reliability over existing piston engine designs with equivalent horsepower ratings. “The Celera 500L’s aerodynamic airframe requires significantly less horsepower to achieve take-off and cruise speeds, allowing for a more fuel-efficient power plant [the A03] to be utilized,” Otto’s website says.

One of seven different patents Otto holds that apply to the Celera 500L also describes the aircraft’s novel exhaust system with a heat exchanger to provide an additional boost in thrust. The aerodynamic shape also gives the plane excellent handling even if the engine fails, adding an additional margin of safety. You can read more about the plane’s design and features in more detail in these past War Zone pieces ,

The aircraft’s teardrop shape also provides a roomier main cabin compared to many similarly-sized business jets, as well as small turboprops. This will improve passenger comfort for long-duration flights. Otto notes that a range of 4,500 miles, together with a typical takeoff run of around 3,300 feet, means that the Celera 500L will be able to fly between virtually any airports in the United States without need to stop to refuel.

Though primarily aimed at civilian and commercial operators, Otto’s new website also highlights the potential for the Celera 500L to use its long-range and high fuel economy to support military missions, including transporting personnel and cargo, as well as conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. A version of the aircraft, possibly unmanned, equipped with any number of sensor suites could be an impressive persistent surveillance and communications relay platform able to orbit over particular areas for very long periods of time and cover a wide swath of the battlefield from its high perch. It could also be able to reposition itself quickly and transit to its tasking area at jet-like speeds. We highlighted the potential military and surveillance utility, especially in an unmanned format, that variants of the Celera 500L could provide in our past coverage, as well.

Otto Aviation has already proposed further developments based on the Celera 500L design. These include a possible variant using hybrid or all-electric propulsion for even greater efficiency and fuel economy, the aforementioned unmanned version, and an enlarged Celera 1000L.

An artist’s conception of an unmanned variant of the Celera 500L., Otto Aviation

Concept art showing the size of a possible future expanded Celera 1000L design compared to the existing Celera 500L., Otto Aviation

At present, the company is looking to enter a B Round next year, during which it will seek outside investment, find a more permanent home for its operations, work toward getting the plane FAA certified, and begin taking actual orders.

Otto’s goal is to have achieved FAA certification by 2023 and then have a manufacturing facility delivering actual production Celera 500Ls to customers by 2025.

All told, after years of reporting on the mysterious aircraft, we are certainly very excited to see Otto Aviation’s Celera finally break cover in an official capacity. The aircraft certainly represents an incredibly ambitious and disruptive set of capabilities that could significantly change the course of aviation and transportation overall.

Getting such an exotic concept into a flying form is an incredible feat in itself for the Otto Aviation team, one that requires large resources and comes with considerable high-risk, to say the least. We look forward to seeing how high the Celera idea can fly from here.

Contact the authors: Joe@thedrive.com and Tyler@thedrive.com

Comments couldn’t be loaded. Please refresh the page.

作者：约瑟夫·特雷维西克和泰勒·罗戈韦

更新于美国东部时间2020年11月27日下午6:27。

奥托航空的Celera 500L飞机正式亮相，该公司也公布了这款极具革命性潜力的高效飞机的愿景，包括可能的无人驾驶版本以及用于情报、监视和侦察任务的军用版本。

2017 年，这架不寻常的子弹形飞机首次在南加州物流机场（位于维克托维尔附近）被发现，当时我是第一个报道此事的媒体，此后一直密切关注着它的秘密发展。

这份公告似乎是奥托航空迄今为止就Celera 500L发布的首份官方声明，同时还推出了一个推广该机型的新网站。新闻稿并未提供关于该机型首飞的具体细节或时间，但表示该机型迄今已累计飞行31次。

2019年6月，这架注册号为N818WM的美国民用飞机在南加州物流机场进行疑似滑行测试，表明它很快就能升空。该网站称，这架飞机在2019年第四季度达到了“空气动力效率验证”的里程碑。

“创新的本质在于打破常规，解决问题。我们的目标是打造一款私人飞机，使其能够以与商业航班相当的速度和成本，在美国境内任意城市间实现直飞，”奥托航空董事长兼首席科学家威廉·奥托（William Otto Sr.）在一份声明中表示。“在许多情况下，个人和家庭将能够以与商业航班票价相当的价格包租Celera 500L，同时享受私人航空带来的便利。我们相信，当私人航空旅行的价格与商业航空旅行的价格具有竞争力时，将会出现巨大的市场机遇。”

他继续说道：“我们相信，Celera 500L是近50年来航空和旅游业最重大的创新。除了用于客运之外，它还可以用于货运和军事用途。由于原型机试飞的结果非常令人鼓舞，我们已准备好将Celera 500L推向市场。”

奥托航空表示，Celera 500L 的最大巡航速度至少为每小时 450 英里，航程超过 4,500 英里。据奥托航空称，该机燃油经济性也十分出色，每加仑汽油可行驶 18 至 25 英里。与 Celera 500L 性能相近（同样可搭载六名乘客）的传统公务机，通常每飞行两到三英里就要消耗一加仑燃油，因此奥托航空的设计在燃油经济性和环保性方面都显著提升。该公司表示，Celera 500L 的每小时飞行成本低至 328 美元，令人难以置信。

该飞机的这一特性以及其他显著性能特征，很大程度上得益于其高度符合空气动力学的整体层流外形，与现有尺寸相近、外形更为传统的飞机相比，阻力降低了约59%。其高效的雷赫林飞机发动机发展公司（RED）A03 V12活塞发动机也是关键因素之一。A03发动机配备多级涡轮增压器，可使用航空煤油（Jet A1）、煤油或生物柴油。

德国RED公司宣称，这款发动机设计高效，油耗低，可靠性远超同等功率的现有活塞式发动机。“Celera 500L的空气动力学机身使其起飞和巡航速度所需的功率显著降低，从而可以使用更节能的动力装置[A03]。”奥托公司网站上写道。

奥托拥有的七项与Celera 500L相关的专利中，有一项描述了该飞机的新型排气系统，该系统配备热交换器，可提供额外的推力。此外，其空气动力学外形即使在发动机失效的情况下也能赋予飞机卓越的操控性能，从而增加了安全裕度。您可以在之前的“战区”系列文章中阅读更多关于该飞机设计和特性的详细信息。

与许多同等尺寸的公务机以及小型涡轮螺旋桨飞机相比，该飞机的水滴形机身也使其主舱更加宽敞。这将提升长途飞行中的乘客舒适度。奥托指出，4500英里的航程，加上约3300英尺的典型起飞滑跑距离，意味着Celera 500L几乎可以在美国境内任何机场之间飞行，无需中途加油。

尽管主要面向民用和商业运营商，奥托的新网站也重点介绍了塞莱拉500L无人机的潜力，它凭借其远程和高燃油经济性，能够支持包括人员和货物运输以及情报、监视和侦察（ISR）任务在内的军事任务。该无人机的一个版本（可能是无人版本）配备多种传感器套件，可以成为一个令人印象深刻的持续监视和通信中继平台，能够在特定区域上空长时间盘旋，并从高空覆盖大片战场。它还可以快速重新部署，并以类似喷气式飞机的速度飞往任务区域。我们之前的报道也强调了塞莱拉500L的各种衍生机型，特别是无人版本，在军事和监视方面的潜在用途。

奥托航空已经提出了基于 Celera 500L 设计的进一步发展方案。这些方案包括采用混合动力或全电动推进系统以实现更高效率和燃油经济性的可能版本、前面提到的无人版本以及加大的 Celera 1000L。

这是艺术家对 Celera 500L 无人驾驶版本的构想图，来自 Otto Aviation。

概念图展示了未来可能的加长型 Celera 1000L 设计与现有 Celera 500L 的尺寸对比。（Otto Aviation）

目前，该公司正寻求明年进行 B 轮融资，届时将寻求外部投资，为其运营寻找更稳定的场所，努力获得美国联邦航空管理局 (FAA) 的飞机认证，并开始接受实际订单。

Otto 的目标是在 2023 年获得 FAA 认证，然后在 2025 年之前建立制造工厂，向客户交付实际生产的 Celera 500L。

总而言之，经过多年对这架神秘飞机的报道，我们非常激动地看到奥托航空的塞莱拉飞机终于以官方身份亮相。这架飞机无疑代表着一系列雄心勃勃且颠覆性的能力，可能会显著改变航空和交通运输业的整体格局。

将如此奇特的概念转化为飞行器本身就是奥托航空团队的一项惊人壮举，这需要大量的资源投入，而且风险极高。我们期待着看到塞莱拉（Celera）项目未来能取得怎样的成就。

联系作者：Joe@thedrive.com 和 Tyler@thedrive.com

评论加载失败，请刷新页面。