Leave a reply. Whisper Aero unveils JetFoil concept capable of near-vertical takeoffs. 2 hours ago Whisper Aero has unveiled new details of its JetFoil propulsion concept, a distributed electric ducted fan system designed to give aircraft short or near-vertical takeoff capability without exposed rotors or tilting propulsors. The company presented the update during SAE International's AeroTech 2026 event in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Whisper Aero co-founder and CEO Mark Moore received the 2026 AIAA F.E. Newbold V/STOL Award. The award recognizes Moore's work in VTOL and STOL technologies, including distributed electric propulsion, eVTOL aircraft and advanced air mobility. Whisper's JetFoil concept embeds electric ducted fans into the leading edge of a wing. The system uses upper surface blowing and the Coanda effect to redirect airflow over the wing and flap system, allowing the aircraft to generate high lift at very low forward speeds. Whisper said its electric ducted fans produce uniform flow with more than 95% turning efficiency at 90 degrees of flow turning. The company says the design could support conventional, short, vertical, or near-vertical takeoff operations using the same basic aircraft configuration. Whisper has positioned JetFoil as an alternative to aircraft that rely on large exposed rotors, tilting propulsors, or separate lift systems to achieve vertical or short takeoff performance. The system does not appear to offer a pure helicopter-style hover. Instead, Whisper describes JetFoil as a way to give aircraft "runway independent" operations while reducing the noise and mechanical complexity associated with some powered-lift designs. The company said it is continuing to test and validate its propulsors and JetFoil technology with the US Air Force, US Navy and NASA under multiple contracts. Whisper also said it is partnering with OEMs to design, build and fly JetFoil-powered aircraft prototypes over the coming year. The concept builds on Moore's long-running work in distributed electric propulsion. Before co-founding Whisper, Moore spent more than 30 years at NASA, where he worked on projects including Puffin, GL-10, LEAPTech and the X-57 electric aircraft program. He later co-founded Uber Elevate, the former Uber aviation unit that helped popularize the early eVTOL air taxi market. Whisper Aero was founded in 2021 by Moore and Ian Villa. The company is developing electric propulsion systems aimed at reducing aircraft noise while improving efficiency. The company has already applied JetFoil technology to defense concepts. In 2025, Whisper announced JetFoil-enabled Collaborative Logistics Aircraft concepts for the US Department of Defense, including autonomous aircraft designed for contested logistics missions. Those aircraft concepts used Whisper's electric propulsion technology to support runway-independent operations and quiet flight profiles for military logistics applications. Whisper has suggested the technology could apply to a range of aircraft, including unmanned systems, advanced air mobility vehicles and other clean-sheet aircraft designs that need short-field or near-vertical takeoff performance.

Release Date June 2, 2026 Whisper Aero reveals 'stall-proof wing,' Mach Industries partnership. When Tennessee-based Whisper Aero unveiled its electric ducted fan technology in 2023, the emphasis was on its extremely low noise - the reason for the company's name. Whisper's unique high-blade-count fan design pushes the blade passage frequency into the ultrasonic range, where the resulting tonal noise is inaudible to humans. The potential applications for the tech range from leaf blowers to regional aircraft; essentially anywhere there is value in moving air quietly. At the time of the unveil, Whisper also revealed the design for a notional Whisper Jet, an example of how its technology could be integrated into an aircraft using a "JetFoil" array of ducted fans along a wing's leading edge. Besides low noise, Whisper said the JetFoil design would provide extremely high lift by virtue of blowing air across the upper surface of the wing, along with very low drag thanks to its smooth integration with the wing and clean exhaust air flow. In 2023, however, these benefits were still largely theoretical. Whisper co-founders Mark Moore and Ian Villa haven't said much about the JetFoil in the three years since, but their team has been busy behind the scenes developing the technology and testing it in the lab. Now, they're finally ready to share some of the results as Moore receives the F.E. Newbold V/STOL Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). In an interview with The Air Current ahead of their reveal at SAE International's AeroTech conference in West Palm Beach, Florida on June 2, Moore and Villa claimed the JetFoil is proving to be even more revolutionary than they originally suggested, with properties that could enable otherwise conventional airplanes to approach the capabilities of vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Whisper is now partnering with California-based startup Mach Industries to develop this "near-VTOL" capability for the Defense Innovation Unit Runway Independent Maritime & Expeditionary Strike (RIMES) program, which seeks drones that can carry fighter-class munitions from destroyers and other warships that lack large flight decks. "We've never been able to get the wing to stall - this is a stall-proof wing," said Moore, explaining how the JetFoil design delivers near-constant lift even as airspeed approaches zero. "Even as you're flying at crazy low speeds, you cannot stall the wing, which is an incredible safety feature." Our award-winning aerospace reporting combines the highest standards of journalism with the level of technical detail and rigor expected by a sophisticated industry audience. * Exclusive reporting and analysis on the strategy and technology of flying * Full access to our archive of industry intelligence * We respect your time; everything we publish earns your attention

Whisper Aero unveils a leaf blower at CES. Whisper Aero has a unique way of showing its cards at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Crossville, Tennessee-based company has developed an ultra-quiet electric propulsor that could power aircraft of varying sizes. While nine Red Bull cyclists recently towed an ultralight sailplane skyward, two Whisper units could launch an ultralight flying wing hang glider. Beta testing in the hood. In what seems to be a clever and cagy move, Mark Moore and Ian Villa have created an electric leaf blower using their quiet technology. Putting their demonstrably quieter Whiasper Tone T1 in customer's hands will unleash thousands of beta testers for the device and the technology. Your editor was a bit taken aback by the blower's $599 price, but after comparing the T1 to units with which it is competitve, realized the addage about getting what you pay for is true in this instance. The video below is a good comparison with other similar products. Whisper is clever in its marketing approach, noting the good neighbor benefits of using their product. Interesting Engineering reports on the device. "The Tone T1 uses proprietary aerospace propulsion technology to deliver more power than top gas-powered blowers. "It operates 70% quieter, meeting the growing national demand for silent lawn care. "Tone T1 is born from the same propulsion technology Moore developed for electric aircraft. "'Whisper Aero was founded on a passion to achieve a quieter world, in the air and on the ground. The Tone T1 Leaf blower is the first product to use aerospace-grade technology derived from my years at NASA, where I pioneered electric aircraft,' said Moore." Similar neighborly efforts will be necessary to make drone deliveries and urban commuter flights reasonable. Whisper's Tone T1 can deliver low noise, and the same technology seems ready to deliver quietude while flying overhead. Whisper's management of acoustic perceptions fits neatly between normal adult loss in the upper frequency ranges and just below the enhanced ability of dogs to hear, well, dog whistles. The noise is there, but Sustainable Aviation Foundation and its pets can't hear it. Future plans. While the leaf blower will prove the efficiency of the thrust provided on owner's lawns, Moore and Villa have airborne ambitions to explore. The earliest aerial vehicle to employ the near-silent thrusters is a regional, autonomous people carrier very much in tune with Mark Moore's earlier leadership of the Uber Lift program, meant to provide urbanites with convenient air taxi service. The folks at Whisper Aero see a more suburban, rural kind of potential group of passengers. "Considerate and compelling" are words the team uses to describe their creations. Probably not autonomous. Even grander, Whisper visualizes a 100-passenger machine that would compete with more traditional craft like Embraers and Dash 8s. Whisper machines would be far quieter, though, allowing airports to built closer to population centers while being far less annoying. Designed to operate from 3,000-foot runways, the machine not only reduces noise, but increases performance through its distributed thrusters along the wing. As Whisper explains, " Integration of Whisper's electric ducted fans along the leading edge of a wing increases the aircraft's wing loading by >20% to increase the cruise high speed lift-to-drag ratio from 17.5 to 22." Operating economy should make the airliner a favorite with operators, if Whisper's analysis is correct. Whisper's designs are as unique as its thrusters, and might take a soothing sales pitch to fill seats, but Mark and Ian seem to have a way to sell their product, even in the hinterlands.