IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016 - 55

Wheels
Engine-Driven
Generator

Power
Converter

Inverter

Motor

Battery

Fuel

Motor

Inverter

Tilt-Rotor

Power
Converter

Generator

Engine

Inverter

Motor
Tilt-Rotor

Figure 15. Tilt-rotor-based flying car propulsion.

Battery
Wheels
Fuel

Engine

Electrical
Machine

Power
Electronics

Inverter

Inverter

Motor

Inverter

Motor

Motor

Tilt-Rotor

Tilt-Rotor

Figure 16. An all-electric motor-drive-based flying car propulsion system.

that one motor can power both the tilt-rotors in case of a
failure of any one of those motors.
The aforementioned architectures are purely concepts,
and each has its own advantages and limitations depending
on the vehicle size, type, packaging constraints, and performance requirements. The best strategy is to use the same
components/subsystems for ground propulsion, flight, and
lift. This will reduce the deadweight due to the functionality
not being used in one operation but required for the other
operation. For a pure electric flying car, the battery is very
important and a critical system. Presently available lithium
ion batteries have an energy density of about 180 Wh/kg. For
a 2-h flight (without considering the energy for lift), with

150 kW of continuous power, the total energy requirement is
300 kWh. For a 180-Wh/kg lithium battery pack, the total battery weight would be 1,667 kg just for a 2-h direct flight. This
weight significantly affects the performance of the vehicle,
and it may not be possible to package the whole battery.
VTOL operation is also a challenge. If the future lithium
air battery of 1,000  Wh/kg (assumed value) is used, the
battery weight will be 300 kg. Even this weight is not a viable practical system for flying cars. The 300-kg battery
could be a possibility for flying trucks like the DARPA
transformer vehicle, but the energy required for the flight
for this type of vehicle is more than 300 kWh. Hence, pure
electric flying vehicles may not be a practical solution,
IEEE Electrific ation Magazine / March 2 0 1 6

55



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2016

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