Supernal confirms first flight of S-A2 demonstrator
After Hyundai subsidiary Supernal’s full-scale eVTOL demonstrator was spotted undergoing ground testing in Mojave, California earlier this year, the company has confirmed that the prototype made its initial tethered test flight on 1 March 2025.
“This is the first of numerous testing milestones in Supernal’s journey to certify and deliver its commercial eVTOL product, S-A2, to operator customers later this decade,” explained Supernal. “Looking ahead, we will continue to refine flight test methods that will ensure a successful prototype and future production vehicles.”
The flight test vehicle includes fully composite wings and booms from GKN Aerospace, assembled in the UK and delivered following preliminary agreements initiated in 2022 and 2023. Supernal stated that the collaboration – including leveraging GKN’s “expertise in advanced aerostructures and materials” – will “help lay the foundation for scaled manufacturing and the integration of innovative technologies to meet the evolving demands of the AAM industry”.
Supernal added that initial tethered test flights of its demonstrator validate “the company’s capabilities to safely design, build, integrate and fly a full-scale vehicle that will help to inform future AAM products”. It unveiled a full-scale eVTOL concept (pictured) at Farnborough International Airshow last summer, at which point it stated flight testing was expected to start later in 2024.
Supernal CEO and president of the Hyundai Motor Group Jaiwon Shin has previously explained that “learnings from [the initial test aircraft] will benefit concurrent S-A2 prototyping so [Supernal] can begin delivering aircraft to operators in 2028”. Last month, Texas-based helicopter flight services company CHC Helicopter became the latest operator to express interest in the four-passenger, piloted craft, which is targeting an initial range of about 60 miles.
