Full-scale Moya 256 eVTOL Makes First Transition Flight

Moya Aero’s full-scale Moya 256 autonomous cargo eVTOL prototype has completed its first full transition from vertical takeoff to wing-borne flight and back, the Brazilian start-up announced on October 21.

That milestone comes three months after Moya said it was preparing the 256 for its first transition while it began building the first full-scale prototype of the larger Moya 760. The São José dos Campos-based company first demonstrated a full transition with a subscale prototype in August 2024.

According to Moya, the flight tested the 256’s propulsion, aerodynamics, and flight controls as the aircraft switched between hover and cruise. Instead of tilting its wings or rotors, the tandem-wing design rotates its entire fuselage between the two flight modes. Its two pairs of electric propellers provide both vertical lift and forward thrust. The company said this design lets the aircraft take off and land in areas as small as a soccer field without a runway.

“Completing the transition with the full-scale Moya 256 is a major milestone toward operational deployment,” Moya co-founder and CEO Alexandre Zaramela said, adding that few existing studies cover this type of aircraft.

Since evolving from a technology demonstrator that first flew in November 2023, the 256 has logged nearly 200 flights. Counting subscale and other test aircraft, Moya has flown nearly 500 test flights. Brazilian innovation agency Finep supports the campaign with a $2 million grant, part of the $5.8 million Moya has raised to date.

Moya is pitching the 256 and 760 for medical and humanitarian supply flights, e-commerce and industrial logistics, and agricultural work. The all-electric 256 can carry 30 kilograms (66 pounds) up to 160 kilometers (99 miles), and the 760 can carry 190 kilograms (420 pounds) up to 190 kilometers (118 miles), according to Moya. In its October 21 announcement, the company cited planned payload capacities of up to 80 kilograms (176 pounds) and 200 kilograms (441 pounds), respectively. A hybrid-electric version of the 760 extends its range to 300 kilometers (186 miles).

Work on a production-conforming 760 prototype is underway, and Moya holds 119 letters of intent from prospective customers, including Canadian logistics group N2 Infrastructure Technologies. The company has said it aims to fly the 760 prototype by year-end and to achieve type certification and service entry in 2027.