LAT Aerospace’s first uSTOL demo aircraft ‘almost ready for flight’: Deepinder Goyal

Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal on Thursday said the first technology demonstrator developed by LAT Aerospace, a startup he has invested in, is “almost ready for flight”.

It is a key milestone in the company’s plan to build ultra-short take-off and landing (uSTOL) aircraft in India.

In a post on X, Goyal said LAT has built a fully electric, fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle from scratch within a few months, supported by a flight lab the team assembled in-house.

“Our first uSTOL technology demonstrator is ready. Today, we have a fully-electric, fixed-wing UAV, built from scratch and almost ready for flight,” he wrote. “Ground rolls done. As I type this, we are pushing hard to get the bird in the air. Hopefully it doesn’t blow up.”

According to Goyal, the demonstrator aircraft requires just 40 metres to take off, supported by a high lift coefficient of 5, more than twice that of most aircraft. It also offers 60 minutes of endurance with an autonomous cruise range equivalent to flying from Mumbai to Pune.

Goyal said the company is simultaneously progressing on hybrid-electric propulsion research and has begun assembling a team to develop its own gas turbine engines.

Calling it “one of the hardest engineering challenges possible”, he said LAT aims to make the concept a reality “before the turn of this decade”.

He also clarified that LAT Aerospace is not part of Eternal.

The Economic Times reported in March that Goyal has invested USD 20 million in LAT Aerospace, founded by former Zomato chief operating officer Surobhi Das.

The startup aims to build low-cost STOL aircraft with up to 24 seats that can operate from compact “air-stops” comparable to the size of a parking lot.

Das, in a LinkedIn post in June, said the idea stemmed from gaps in regional connectivity despite India having over 450 airstrips, of which only about 150 host commercial flights.

“Millions in Tier 2 and 3 cities spend hours – sometimes days – travelling by road or rail,” she wrote, adding that LAT’s vision is to create “buses in the sky” — affordable, high-frequency flights connecting locations traditional airlines have overlooked.

“Our aircraft will take off and land in compact ‘air-stops’ – no bigger than a parking lot – built closer to where people live. No chaos. No security lines. Just walk in and fly,” she said.