Overair

Founded in 2019 as a spinoff of Karem Aircraft, Overair focuses on the development and deployment of advanced eVTOL aircraft. The company is the fourth in a lineage of iconic aerospace companies, which has paved the way for its eVTOL aircraft, Butterfly, through a series of technologies with stakeholders such as the US Department of Defense and NASA.

Butterfly is a six-seat all-electric aircraft, enabling travel distances of more than 100 miles at a cruise speed of 200 miles per hour. The aircraft's propulsion system is the result of decades of military VTOL programs, led by Overair’s co-founder Abe Karem, making it highly efficient and giving it the broadest flight envelope and smallest sound footprint of any aircraft in the industry, according to the company. The aircraft's unique Optimum Speed Propulsion (OSP) system uses four large propellers, which spin slowly during hovering and cruising, drawing only a fraction of the motor power available. This allows Butterfly to carry extra payload capacity and operate safely in challenging environmental conditions. The aircraft's slow-turning propellers produce very little sound, which enables it to operate in high-density areas with noise-sensitive communities. Butterfly’s experimental prototype was slated to take flight in the second half of 2023.

Key customers and partnerships

In December 2021 , Overair formed a strategic partnership with Bristow to introduce Butterfly and leverage Bristow's 70+ years of aviation expertise. This collaboration would assist Overair in developing the aircraft's design considerations, key performance parameters, FAA certification plans, flight planning best practices, and other crucial aspects that would ensure the safe and efficient market entry of Butterfly. The partnership would also explore commercial taxi flights in new and emerging markets for Bristow operations using the Overair aircraft in various high-density geographic locations. As of May 2023, the company had an operating partnership with Hanwha Systems, which had also made an investment in the company.

Funding and financials

In its latest funding round in June 2022 , the company secured USD 145 million in funding from Hanwha Group, which was to go toward the development of Butterfly and lay the groundwork for commercializing its mobility technology.