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From Zero to Flight: Singapore’s Homegrown eVTOL Journey

  • 08 Oct 2026
  • Text by Dr Christine Teh, Nanyang Technological University

Singapore is known around the world for its aviation and aerospace capabilities. Yet, until recently, the nation had never designed, engineered and built its own electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

That began to change with an ambitious moonshot led by Professor James Wang of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU).

The vision was bold: to develop Singapore’s first homegrown eVTOL aircraft and, in doing so, build the technologies, talent and capabilities needed to contribute to the global future of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM).

But the journey did not begin with a large aerospace company, an established aircraft factory or a team of experienced eVTOL engineers.

It began from zero!

Professor Wang, who has held executive and leadership roles at Leonardo Helicopters and Sikorsky, is a pioneer of eVTOL technology who conceived and designed AgustaWestland’s Project Zero in 2010 — the world’s first all-electric tilt-rotor technology demonstrator, which first flew in 2011. NTU recruited Dr Wang to spearhead an eVTOL programme at Singapore to bring together a passionate team of young engineers, researchers and students, many of whom were fresh graduates at the beginning of their careers. They came with enthusiasm, curiosity and a willingness to learn, but also with the recognition that developing an aircraft from scratch would be a formidable challenge.

The team had to build knowledge, capability and confidence step by step.

Developing an eVTOL aircraft requires expertise across a wide range of disciplines. The programme brought together system engineering, electric propulsion, flight controls, avionics, energy systems, aerodynamics, advanced structures, composite materials, aircraft manufacturing and flight testing. Working closely with Singapore’s research community, including A*STAR, as well as international and local industry partners, DLR, Eaton Aerospace, Syensqo, Diab, Luminator, AVL, CEVA, WingTeck, Bitec, Volz Servos, Embention, BJO, Admiralty, Flare Dynamics, Republic Polytechnic, the NTU team under the leadership and mentoring of Professor Wang began turns an ambitious vision into a flying aircraft.

The NTU eVTOL team with industry and ecosystem partners at the 2026 Singapore Airshow, marking a key milestone in the programme’s journey towards advancing homegrown eVTOL capabilities in Singapore. Photo: NTU
Starting Small, Learning Fast

The first step was not to build the aircraft of the future. It was to learn how to build one.

The journey began with a 3-metre-wingspan, 25 kg subscale eVTOL demonstrator. It became the team’s first flying technology platform and, in many ways, its first real classroom.

The 3-metre-wingspan, 25 kg subscale eVTOL demonstrators that marked the beginning of the NTU team’s journey from concept to flight. Photo: NTU

The small aircraft provided an opportunity to validate technologies, test engineering assumptions and gain practical experience in aircraft integration and flight testing. The team could develop and evaluate key aircraft systems in a smaller and more manageable platform before progressing to a much larger aircraft.

The NTU team with Flare Dynamics and Embention during 3-metre-wingspan, 25 kg subscale eVTOL demonstrator flight testing in Tuas, Singapore validating technologies and gaining practical experience in aircraft integration and flight testing. Photo: NTU

But the journey was never a straight line.

The team tested, analysed, identified problems, redesigned, rebuilt and tested again. Some systems performed as expected; others required further refinement. Flight testing revealed behaviours that could not always be fully predicted through analysis and simulation alone. Each test became part of an iterative engineering cycle, with data and lessons from one test feeding into the next design improvement.

The team’s philosophies taught by Professor Wang were simple; “If it can be dreamt, it can be built,” and “Failure is not an option.”

Yet, in the real world of innovation, failure can happen.

When it does, the question is what comes next.

Every setback is an opportunity to understand the system better, identify what went wrong, improve the design and strengthen the team. In aerospace, where safety and reliability are paramount, the ability to learn systematically from unexpected results is an essential part of engineering excellence.

Through this process of testing, learning and rebuilding, the team gradually gained the technical knowledge and confidence to take on the next challenge.

Scaling Up: From 25 kg to Full Scale

The programme progressed from the small subscale demonstrator to full-scale 8-metre-wingspan aircraft, including the Technology Demonstrator 1 (TD1) and the optimised TD2, with the full-scale platform weighing approximately 400–450 kg.

Technology Demonstrator (TD), the programme’s full-scale eVTOL platform weighing approximately 400–450 kg, marking a major step from subscale flight demonstration to full-scale aircraft development. Photo: NTU

Moving from a 25 kg subscale aircraft to a full-scale 8-meter wingspan aircraft introduced an entirely different level of engineering complexity. While the fundamental aircraft design and flight-control architecture were retained, almost every other aspect of the aircraft had to be developed and adapted for the much larger platform.

The full-scale aircraft introduced a significantly more complex high voltage electrical and energy architecture. The team had to develop and integrate high voltage battery systems, battery management systems (BMS), battery distribution units (BDU), charging systems, power distribution and associated electrical and communication networks. These systems had to operate reliably and safely alongside the electric propulsion, composite structures, avionics and other aircraft subsystems, forming one integrated flying system.

The transition from the subscale demonstrator to the full-scale aircraft therefore required the team to apply knowledge gained from earlier testing while solving an entirely new set of engineering, safety and system-integration challenges at a much greater scale.

The team started from zero, but it did not start without discipline. Although many team members were young engineers and researchers cutting their teeth and building their experience, the aircraft development process was guided by the rigour and structured practices expected of a professional aerospace programme. Formal engineering reviews, including Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), Critical Design Reviews (CDR) and Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR), were conducted at key stages of development. Design decisions were systematically reviewed before the design was frozen, manufacturing commenced and the aircraft was cleared for flight.

Professor Wang emphasises to the young engineers to always think and plan ahead both technical and non-technical works, “Success is 90% planning and 10% execution.”

These processes provided important technical and safety gates, ensuring that the team progressed not simply with speed, but with discipline, evidence and confidence.

Taking Flight Beyond Singapore

An eVTOL aircraft must operate across several distinct flight modes, including vertical take-off, hover, transition and forward flight. As the aircraft moves between these modes, its aerodynamic behaviour and control requirements change significantly.

These challenges cannot be fully resolved through simulations or laboratory testing alone. They must ultimately be validated through carefully planned ground and flight tests.

Singapore’s limited airspace presented an additional challenge. To conduct more extensive flight testing and explore the aircraft’s transition from vertical flight towards forward flight, the team took the programme beyond Singapore and brought the aircraft to Germany for flight testing with the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

The 3-metre-wingspan, 25 kg subscale eVTOL demonstrator during its first flight at DLR, Germany, in January 2025. The winter flight campaign provided valuable real-world experience and laid the foundation for subsequent full-scale aircraft development. Photo: NTU
Professor James Wang, Programme Director, whose vision and leadership have shaped the NTU homegrown eVTOL journey from concept to flight. Photo: NTU

Working together with DLR’s flight-test experts, the NTU team progressively expanded the aircraft’s flight envelope, gathered valuable real-world flight data and deepened its experience in flight-test planning, execution and analysis.

These flights were not simply demonstrations of a completed aircraft. They were part of the engineering development process itself. Every flight generated new data, every test provided feedback, and every result became an opportunity for the team to learn, improve and move forward together.

TD1 takes flight, turning years of engineering, integration and testing into a successful full-scale flight milestone. Photo: NTU
The NTU team with TD1 during the second flight-test campaign in Germany in July 2026, working with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to further expand the aircraft’s flight envelope and advance full-scale flight-test capabilities. Photo: NTU
More Than an Aircraft: From Zero to One

For the team, seeing a homegrown eVTOL aircraft unveiled at the 2026 Singapore Airshow was a moment of immense pride. It marked a significant milestone in Singapore’s aerospace journey: an eVTOL aircraft designed, engineered and built in Singapore, successfully taken from the drawing board to flight. For a team that had started from zero, it was a powerful moment, not an endpoint, but a milestone that showed what could be achieved and opened the door to what could come next.

But the programme is about more than the aircraft. It is about developing people and building capabilities for the future.

Through the programme, young engineers and researchers have experienced the realities of developing and flying an aircraft. They have learned that innovation requires not only technical knowledge, but also teamwork, responsibility, resilience and the courage to learn from failure.

The NTU eVTOL team, a generation of young engineers and researchers gaining hands-on experience in aircraft development and flight, and learning the value of teamwork, resilience and learning from failure. Photo: NTU
NTU, DLR and Flare Dynamics teams with TD1 at the DLR hangar in Germany during a pre-flight briefing in preparation for the flight-test campaign. Photo: NTU

The capabilities developed through this journey extend beyond the aircraft itself. Advancing eVTOL technology requires an understanding of flight testing, safety, certification and the regulatory frameworks that will ultimately enable Advanced Air Mobility operations. The programme is therefore helping to build a broader foundation for Singapore’s future AAM ecosystem, while strengthening capabilities in electric propulsion, advanced composites, aircraft manufacturing, system integration and flight testing.

From zero to one is always the hardest step.

The NTU eVTOL journey is a story of ambition and technology, but above all, it is a story of people, a team that started small, learned from failure and refused to stop moving forward.

When something fails, we learn.

We rebuild.

We test again.

And together, we move forward.

The aircraft may be the most visible achievement, but the greater legacy may be the people and capabilities built along the way, a new generation of engineers and innovators who now know that they can start from zero, take on the impossible, learn from failure and build something that flies.

The NTU programme transforms advanced research into a safe, scalable and sustainable next-generation aerial mobility platform.

From concept to flight, NTU is building not just an aircraft, but Singapore’s capabilities for the future of flight.

The journey from zero to one has been made. Now, the journey from one to the future begins.

To experience the journey from vision to flight, watch the Singapore’s first full-sized electric aircraft takes flight and NTUsg unveils Singapore’s first locally designed and built electric aircraft, which offer a closer look at the people, technology and milestones behind the programme.

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