The Celera 500L is powered by RED Aircraft RED A03 engine. The bullet plane is designed for transcontinental range with operating costs equal to or better than commercial airline ticket pricing on a per passenger basis. This criteria requires extremely low drag across the entire aircraft with a highly fuel-efficient propulsion system. To achieve this, extensive use of laminar shapes for the airfoils, fuselage, and minimum intersections are used.
“Innovation at its core is solving a problem without conventional bias.” – William M. Otto, founder and CEO of Otto Aviation.
- Country of origin: U.S.A
- Cockpit: 2 seats
- Wingspan: TBC
- Empty weight: TBC
- Max Take-Off Weight: TBC
- Take-off distance: TBC
- Landing distance: TBC
- Operating speed: 390kts
- Range: 4500nm
Key features:
- Revolutionary new design.
- Low drag performance.
- Impressive range.
- Extremely fuel-efficient
- Powered by RED Aircraft RED A03 Engine
The Otto Celera-500L is the product of years of thought, research and innovation by the Otto Aviation Group. The company was formed in 2008 by the Scientist and Systems Engineer, William Otto. After spending extensive years travelling the globe whilst working in aircraft accident investigation, Otto became acutely aware of several problems that he personally experienced in commercial air travel. This led him, as an educated problem solver, to try and develop a solution. He decided that an aircraft that could offer cost efficiency, convenience and mass accessibility would be highly beneficial to both the aviation industry, and the travelling public as a whole. The result of which we can see today in the Otto Celera-500L.
Powered by The RED A03 by RED Aircraft GmbH
Another key attribute of Otto Aviation’s Celera 500L private aircraft is its liquid-cooled V12 twin six-cylinder German-built RED A03 engine. This rear-mounted engine is certified to operate using both biodiesels as well as Jet A1.
Mentioned below are some of the factors that influenced Otto Aviation to choose RED Aircraft GmbH’s RED A03 engine for the Celera 500L.
- Liquid cooled V12, twin 6-cylinder bank, capable of independent operation with mutually independent critical engine sub-systems for each bank
- Type certification approval granted via EASA (TC.E.150) and FAA (E00092EN)
- Certified to operate on readily available Jet A1 and biodiesel
- Capable of 550+ takeoff horsepower and best-in-class fuel efficiency
- Controlled via fully redundant electronic engine control unit with single power control lever reducing pilot workload
- Lightweight, all-aluminum design
Otto Aviation CTO David Bogue
“We evaluated several engine options for the Celera 500L. The RED engine outperformed each one with exceptional efficiency through higher altitudes. We’re delighted to partner with RED on this aircraft using their certified engine.”
The concept of the aircraft invites many exciting opportunities for commercial air travel, both now and in the future.
The Otto Celera-500L is a mid-wing monoplane. It’s design characteristics set it apart in a great many areas from those of its competitors. It is a ‘pusher’ configured aeroplane. Its power-plant is located in the tail and thrust is propeller generated. Whilst this is not an entirely new concept, the enhancements enabled by utilising this configuration are truly noteworthy.
The tear-drop shaped fuselage offers lightweight stability. This shape also leads to a massive increase in overall efficiency. The design of the aircraft is such that it takes advantage of prolific use of laminar flow surfaces throughout the entire structure of the aircraft. In simple terms, laminar flow is when moving air is subjected to as little disruption as possible. In a conventional aircraft the flow is disrupted, particularly at points where various surfaces meet. By reducing these points the designers have reduced the drag produced significantly, by 59% in fact.
This improvement is most easily observed in the actual demonstrated performance of the aircraft. The Otto Celera-500L boasts an impressive 4500nm transcontinental range. As a result, any two cities within the United States can be connected with a single journey. Whilst on the subject of range and fuel efficiency it is worth highlighting that the Otto Celera-500L has a fuel efficiency of between 18-25 miles per gallon of fuel; A fuel consumption rate that is more comparable to an average saloon car than a transcontinental aeroplane. To explain how incredibly efficient this is, a light business jet performing the same task would generally operate at around 3 miles per gallon.
The aircraft cruises at speeds in the region of 390 knots. In some instances this matches the performance of many smaller business jet aircraft. When combined with the cost efficiency given by the Otto Celera-500L, it makes for a very exciting proposition.
As a result, the operating costs of the aircraft are relatively cheap. The company quotes a rate of around $328 dollars per hour. Again whilst this may sound expensive, on average, a conventional aircraft sits at around $2100 in hourly costs. A lower cost base for operators ensures that this saving can be passed on to passengers, making air travel in comfort much more affordable. The long term goal of the company is a price per passenger that should equate to approximately the same cost as a standard airline ticket.
On the subject of comfort the aircraft shape again plays a part. Due to the shape of the fuselage the cabin has a volume of 12.5 cubic metres. Giving passengers the same amount of room as they could expect in a mid-size jet. The aircraft has been designed to seat 6 passengers in first-class comfort. At an average cabin height of 180cm the Otto Celera-500L presents a significant improvement on the standard offerings of most small commercial business jets.
Whilst not yet in mass production, the aircraft performance in terms of which airports it can operate from is equally exciting. With the ability to fly from smaller regional airports, the possibilities of unlimited and cheap point to point travel by private individuals may represent a new age in commercial air travel.
Further reading and sources
• https://www.ottoaviation.com/technology
• https://www.boldmethod.com/blog/lists/2020/08/celera-500l-revolutionary-plane/
• https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/business-aviation-news/otto-aviation-officially-introduces-the-celera-500l/
• https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/28409/the-mysterious-and-potentially-revolutionary-celera-500l-aircraft-may-fly-soon