Aura Aerospace has proposed a new approach to air mobility. The five-seat Ranger looks like Darth Vader’s shuttle when folded, but promises to fly farther than any conventional aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing.

Vertical take-off and landing are accomplished by a coaxial octacopter system with eight 70-inch (178 cm) two-bladed propellers hanging forward and aft from the large main wing. This system allows you to board and disembark, and when the wing opens to its full 23 meters (75 feet) width while in the air, a pair of turbofan jet engines activates to provide forward thrust.

In cruise flight and with the wings fully supported, the propellers slow to a full stop and align with their propellers, and small retractable pontoons extend to cover the propellers for minimal drag. With the propellers retracted, the Ranger can accelerate to cruising speed of 820 km/h (510 mph/Mach 0.66); this is slightly slower than most aircraft because instead it flies from an altitude of 10,000 ft (3,050 m) to an altitude of 30,000 m. feet (9150 meters).

As the company states, with tanks filled with environmentally friendly aviation fuel, the Ranger can travel 18,000 km (11,185 miles) or 22 hours of non-stop flight. For reference, a typical Airbus A380 flies a maximum of about 14,800 km (9,200 miles) with passengers. And if its fuel supply runs out, it will still be able to glide and land on the runway, according to Aura. Source