Eve Air Mobility has named Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), as supplier for its electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft’s pylons. Pylons are a key component of the airframe that provide support for the aircraft’s electric power units and eight lift propellers.
“KAI has an excellent reputation for quality, technology and business performance supplying numerous aerostructure components for a variety of aircraft including Embraer’s E-Jet E2 model,” said Johann Bordais, CEO of Eve. “We are excited to have KAI join a strong and diverse list of suppliers who will work with us to supply components from prototype through production.”
During the past 30 years, KAI has supplied major aerostructure components to global aircraft manufacturers, including Embraer for its E-Jet E2 model. The agreement marks KAI’s formal entry into the advanced air mobility (AAM) market. Last year, KAI CEO Goo Young Kang designated space and future air mobility as the company’s core future businesses through its 2050 vision declaration. KAI recently announced a significant investment in production infrastructure with the goal of growing its market share in the rapidly growing AAM market going forward.
KAI is the latest supplier for Eve’s eVTOL to be named by Eve. In February, Eve named Aciturri (wing skin, spars and leading/trailing edges of the wing) and Crouzet (pilot controls) as suppliers. In January, Eve announced that Thales would supply sensors and a computer, while Honeywell would supply guidance, navigation and external lighting. RECARO Aircraft Seating was selected to supply the eVTOL’s seats and FACC will supply the horizontal and vertical tail including the rudder and elevator. In 2023, Eve selected Garmin to supply the aircraft’s avionics, Liebherr-Aerospace to supply the flight controls actuators and Intergalactic to provide the thermal management system. The company also named Nidec Aerospace, LLC, a joint venture between Nidec and Embraer, to provide the electric propulsion system, BAE Systems to provide the energy storage system and Duc Hélice Propellers to supply the rotors and propeller.
Eve’s eVTOL aircraft utilizes a lift+cruise configuration with eight dedicated propellers for vertical flight and fixed wings to fly on cruise, with no change in the position of these components during flight. The latest concept includes an electric pusher powered by dual electric motors that provide propulsion redundancy with the goal of ensuring the highest levels of performance and safety. While offering numerous advantages such as lower cost of operation, fewer parts, optimized structures, and systems, it has been developed to offer efficient thrust with low sound.