Mysterious bullet-shaped aircraft nears its first flight

Mysterious bullet-shaped aircraft said to be 10 TIMES more efficient than current business jets nears its first flight

  • The pusher-propeller plane, dubbed the Celera 500L, has undergone taxi tests
  • NASA pilot Scott Howe recently spotted the bullet-shaped aircraft being tested 
  • Celera 500L is expected to have 10 times the fuel efficiency of business jets 
  • It was developed by Otto Aviation Group, of which there are few known details

A high-tech, bullet-shaped aircraft with potentially revolutionary fuel efficiency could be getting closer to taking flight for the first time. 

The pusher-propeller plane, dubbed the Celera 500L, was recently spotted undergoing taxi tests by NASA pilot Scott Howe, according to The Drive. 

It’s being developed by secretive California-based firm Otto Aviation Group, of which there are few known details. 

 

A high-tech, bullet-shaped aircraft with potentially revolutionary fuel efficiency could be getting closer to taking flight for the first time. It was spotted undergoing taxi tests 

‘Strange aircraft sighting today on my #NASA #KingAir approach to Rwy-17,’ Howe wrote in an Instagram post. 

‘This is apparently a Celera 500L, experimental pusher prop plane – #N818WM doing some high speed taxi testing. Very cool.’

N818WM references the plane’s aircraft registration code, according to the Drive. 

The tests were reportedly being conducted at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, which is northeast of Los Angeles. 

The Celera 500L’s ‘exotic’ design is all about increasing efficiency in aircraft performance, as well as making passenger air travel more seamless, the Drive reported. 

Otto Aviation Group has filed several patents in the US with designs that closely mirror the Celera 500 L. 

The aircraft, dubbed the Celera 500L was spotted undergoing taxi tests by NASA pilot Scott Howe. In an Instagram post, he described the aircraft as an 'experimental pusher prop plane'

The aircraft, dubbed the Celera 500L was spotted undergoing taxi tests by NASA pilot Scott Howe. In an Instagram post, he described the aircraft as an ‘experimental pusher prop plane’ 

The tests were reportedly being conducted earlier this year at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, which is northeast of Los Angeles

The tests were reportedly being conducted earlier this year at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, which is northeast of Los Angeles

It was also given approval by the US Federal Aviation Administration in February.

However, for the most part, there has been a ‘remarkable amount of secrecy surrounding the aircraft,’ the Drive noted. 

Many details about the aircraft have been ascertained from Otto Aviation Group’s various patents. 

A patent made public in April 2016 detailed how the Celera 500L would reach a typical cruise speed of between 460 and 510 miles per hour. 

Additionally, it could cruise at an altitude of up 65,000 feet and have an average fuel consumption of 30 to 42 miles per gallon.  

Pictured is a previous design of the Celera 500L from June 2017. It has since been redesigned with a different propeller, winglets at the tip of each wing and other changes

Pictured is a previous design of the Celera 500L from June 2017. It has since been redesigned with a different propeller, winglets at the tip of each wing and other changes

This gives it the potential to be up to ten times more efficient than current light business jets, according to the Drive. 

‘Preferably, it would have operating costs well below current costs and competitive with commercial airliners, cruise at higher system speed than current commercial aircraft, have a longer range with full passenger and luggage load than most current business aircraft, provide passenger comfort comparable to commercial aircraft and be capable of all weather operation,’ another patent from Otto Aviation Group states. 

‘The plane should also provide for ease of maintenance and require only a single pilot.’ 

It’s not yet clear whether the latest Celera 500L design is protoype model or what kind of market Otto Aviation Group would go after should it bring the aircraft to market.  

WHAT IS THE MYSTERIOUS X-37B ORBITAL TEST VEHICLE? 

The US Air Force’s unmanned X-37B space plane has flown a number of secret missions to date.

Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit.

The spacecraft looks similar to Nasa’s space shuttle but is much smaller. The X-37B is about 29ft (8.8m) long and 9.5ft (2.9 m) tall.

Like a shuttle, X-37B is blasted into orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a normal aircraft. The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite

Like a shuttle, X-37B is blasted into orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a normal aircraft. The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite

It has a wingspan of just less than 15ft (4.6 m). At launch, it weighs 11,000lbs (4,990kg).

The craft is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth.

Its main mission payload is a mystery, although Nasa has revealed it has a hauled a number of materials experiments aboard into space.

 

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