Tier 1 Engineering’s Electric R44

A new video from the Vertical Flight Society's Ken Swartz features an in-depth interview with Tier 1 Engineering president Glen Dromgoole, who has led development of an electric version of a Robinson R44 helicopter for customer Lung Biotechnology, a United Therapeutics subsidiary. Dromgoole, who exhibited the electric R44 at Heli-Expo earlier this year, explains the genesis of the project and how his team modified a conventional piston-engine helicopter with batteries and electric motors. Ultimately, Tier 1 hopes to achieve an hour of flight time with the aircraft, including a 20-minute reserve. While Dromgoole is positive about other, more revolutionary eVTOL designs, too, “I think that’s much further out there in the future, and this is really the stepping stone for electrification in the aviation field,” he said.