Lift Aircraft plans to perform a deployment test of a uniquely designed parachute for its Hexa 18-rotor, optionally piloted, electric vertical-takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the fourth quarter of this year.Lift Aircraft CEO, Matt Chasen, told Janes on 16 July that the company designed Hexa with a ballistic parachute that deploys outward. For deployment, Hexa ejects weights that are attached to the perimeter of the parachute.Hexa is being developed in part for the entertainment market but is participating in the US Air Force's Agility Prime advanced air-mobility vehicle effort. Chasen said Lift Aircraft is working through its first phase of flight tests performed with the guidance of the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Agility Prime programme.Lift Aircraft is targeting three types of missions for Hexa: manned flight, unmanned cargo flight, and a special configuration for air ambulance or medical evacuation (medevac).
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