Nimbus Aerospace tests quarter-scale prototype in Oregon as hybrid-electric race ramps up

What happened

Seattle-based startup Nimbus Aerospace has completed successful test flights of its quarter-scale hybrid aircraft prototype in Oregon as it works toward a 2028 full-scale build. Nimbus plans to build a six- to eight-passenger aircraft with a 1,500-mile range that operates with half as much fuel as a comparable conventional plane.

Nimbus Aerospace’s NX1, a one-quarter size prototype in a test flight this summer near the Pendleton Airport UAS Range in Oregon. (Nimbus Photo) The team at Seattle-based Nimbus Aerospace had planned to finish testing its quarter-scale prototype earlier in the summer, but struggled to schedule one of the few pilots skilled in remote-controlled flight.

“Not many people wanted to fly this thing,” said Adrian Groos , co-founder and CEO of Nimbus. The startup is developing a hybrid-electric aircraft with high-lift wings designed to improve fuel efficiency.