Wayfarer Aircraft tests retractable electric propellers for short-field flight

Wayfarer Aircraft Research and Development has successfully tested its Waylift system, a retractable distributed electric propulsion technology designed to enhance short-field performance. Using a one-third-scale model of a Cessna 182, the company demonstrated that ten electric propellers positioned along the wing can blow air over the surface to increase lift during takeoff and landing.

According to Wayfarer, the system produced four times the lift of an unmodified aircraft and can enable takeoffs or landings on runways shorter than 75 meters. To minimize drag during cruise flight, the propellers retract fully into the wing. The technology is intended as a retrofit for existing aircraft, potentially benefiting civil aviation, military operations, and public-safety missions.

The research was conducted in collaboration with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which also flew a full-scale Cessna 182 to compare aerodynamic behavior. The project is supported by NASA, which provided an approximately $900,000 award for Phase II research to collect aerodynamic and acoustic data.