Vortex Aerospace — Drako, a full-electric canard delta

Most aircraft are optimised for one thing. Drako is built to be very good at all of them — and to be printed, proven and flown by a small team.

Vortex Aerospace is a small, founder-led aerospace company. We are developing Drako: a full-electric aircraft in the canard-delta layout, carried on four tilting coaxial propulsion pods, with wings that fold for transport and an undercarriage that swaps between wheels and twin floats.

The premise is versatility without compromise in any one direction. Short and vertical-assisted take-off and landing when the field is small. Clean, efficient cruise when the distance is long. Water when there is no runway at all. A platform that is top tier at everything it is asked to do, rather than best at one thing and mediocre at the rest.

The airframe is generated from a single engineering recipe, checked by automated proofs on every build, and 3D-printed on a composite spine. That is how a small team iterates a whole aircraft in days, not seasons.

The aircraft

A canard delta with all-moving canards, a single full-span slotted flap and four coaxial pods on pylons that tilt together for short-field work — then return to a clean, efficient cruise line.

Drako · profile · landing configuration render from the current build

01

Full-electric propulsion

Four coaxial, contra-rotating pods on pylons. Electric power keeps the airframe simple, quiet and easy to service, with no fuel system and no gearbox.

02

Tilting pods

The pods tilt for short and vertical-assisted take-off and landing, adding lift when the runway is short, then align with the flight path for cruise.

03

Canard delta

All-moving canards and a delta wing with a single full-span slotted flap: stable at low speed, clean at high speed, with generous internal volume.

04

Folding wings

The outer wing panels fold for transport and storage, so the aircraft travels in a trailer or a van and deploys at the field.

05

Amphibious option

The undercarriage is swappable: wheels with a steered, hub-motor nose wheel for ground taxi, or twin floats for operation from water.

06

Thermal Watch

An onboard thermal sense-and-avoid vision system with AI detection of flyers on video, watching the sky around the aircraft.

Built to be worked on

Drako is designed as a working machine. Every system the team needs to reach is behind a lid, on a spigot or on a pin — because a demonstrator that is hard to service is a demonstrator that does not fly often.

Drako from above with the top service bay lids open and the nose and tail cones pulled off — Top service bays with lids, detachable nose and tail service

Drako with the outer wings folded upward for transport — Outer wings folded for transport transport

Drako on twin floats, pods tilted for a water take-off — Twin floats in place of the wheels amphibious

Drako seen from below and behind, showing the delta wing, the flap and the rear pods — Delta wing, full-span flap, rear pods from below

Programme status

Drako is in development, in the demonstrator phase. The design is frozen build by build, each build is proven before it is printed, and the demonstrator airframe is being assembled from those builds.

Phase 1

Concept

Layout, mission set and the case for a balanced platform rather than a specialised one.

Phase 2

Recipe & proofs

The whole airframe as one parametric recipe, with automated clearance, fit and structural proofs on every build.

Phase 3 · current

Demonstrator

Printed airframe on a composite spine, systems integration, ground testing of propulsion, gear and vision.

Phase 4

Flight test

Envelope expansion from short-field work through cruise, with the amphibious and folded configurations.

Phase 5

Partner evaluation

Demonstrations and data packs for qualified partners under NDA.

Partners & investors

Specifications are confidential and available under NDA to qualified partners. Investors and partners have access to the live 3D programme view of the aircraft in the partner portal — access on request.

Write to us Partner portal