Silverwing Personal Flight
TU Delft student Dream Team developing the Silverwing S1, an electric tailsitter VTOL aircraft for personal flight, funded entirely by Boeing GoFly Prize winnings and operating pre-commercially with no paying customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersDelft, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Silverwing Personal Flight does
Silverwing Personal Flight is a TU Delft student team operating as a Dream Team since 2017, based in Delft, the Netherlands, and focused on developing the Silverwing S1, an electric tailsitter vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft for personal flight applications. The team comprises roughly 35 students from 13 nationalities and operates with technical support from GKN Aerospace, the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR), and the Dutch Ministry of Defence. Core technical components include a proprietary tailsitter configuration with custom propeller wake-flap interaction control logic, a bespoke 1,280-cell high-capacity battery pack, and an autonomous flight system paired with an augmented-reality pilot interface.
The project's core output to date has been competition entries rather than commercial product: the S1 won Phase I ($20,000) and Phase II ($50,000) of the Boeing GoFly Prize in 2018 and 2019 respectively, secured FAA experimental flight clearance, and completed its first untethered outdoor flight at the GoFly Phase III fly-off in February 2020. The team has publicly articulated a multi-vertical future product wedge spanning personal air mobility, autonomous cargo delivery, and industrial inspection, but no commercial product, pricing model, paying customer, or venture financing has been disclosed in the input.
The business model is non-commercial: inflows are limited to competition prize money ($70,000 cumulative) and in-kind support from academic and industry partners, with no revenue-generating operations identified. The organizational structure is built around continuous student turnover, with team membership rotating as students graduate, which carries both a recruiting advantage (continuous inflow of fresh talent) and a continuity risk for any long-horizon commercialization effort.
Silverwing Personal Flight firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Silverwing Personal Flight
- Website
- https://flysilverwing.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- TU Delft student Dream Team developing the Silverwing S1, an electric tailsitter VTOL aircraft for personal flight, funded entirely by Boeing GoFly Prize winnings and operating pre-commercially with no paying customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Silverwing Personal Flight industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) Personal Aircraft
- NAICS
- Aircraft Manufacturing (336411), Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (336413)
- SIC
- Aircraft & Parts (3720), Aircraft (3721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fixed-Wing Aircraft Kits & Experimental Aircraft Manufacturing (IMABAAAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Propellers, Rotors & Open-Rotor Propulsors (IMABADAI)
Keywords
Where Silverwing Personal Flight is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Delft
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Silverwing Personal Flight business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Research Project / Competition Prize Funding: The team is a university student project competing for prize money in the Boeing GoFly competition. Phase I prize of $20,000 (June 2018) and Phase II prize of $50,000 (February 2019) were won. No commercial revenue is currently generated.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels9 records
Silverwing Personal Flight product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Silverwing Personal Flight designs, develops, and prototypes an electric personal flying device called the S1, a tailsitter vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft intended for single-passenger autonomous personal air mobility. The S1 uses ducted fans, a custom battery pack, and propeller wake-flap interaction stabilization, and is built around a fully autonomous flight stack with an augmented reality interface. The product is currently a single functional prototype showcased through the Boeing GoFly competition; it is not yet commercially sold.
Product overview
Silverwing Personal Flight is a student team from TU Delft developing a single electric personal flying device called the S1. The S1 is an electric tailsitter VTOL aircraft that combines advanced aerodynamics with autonomous flight capabilities. The team won Phase I and Phase II of the Boeing GoFly competition and has developed a functional prototype featuring ducted fans, aerodynamic cockpit, and autopilot functionality. The company operates as a Dream Team at TU Delft with approximately 35 student members from various engineering disciplines.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Silverwing S1 An electric personal flying device and tailsitter VTOL aircraft that automatically takes off and lands on a footprint smaller than a sedan, designed for single-passenger personal air mobility. Features autonomous flight by default with an augmented reality interface, ducted-fan propulsion, custom battery pack, and propeller wake-flap interaction stabilization; demonstrated at 140 km/h cruise speed with 30-minute flight time and 90 kg payload capacity.
Quantifiable outcome
- 140 km/h cruise speed and 30 minutes flight time achieved by the S1 prototype
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Silverwing Personal Flight
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Silverwing Personal Flight technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Silverwing Personal Flight partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)coreTU Delft is the parent institution providing the student team with workshop and office space. Silverwing is recognized as a Dream Team alongside Vattenfall Solar Team and Delft Hyperloop. The team is comprised of engineering students from TU Delft and operates from the university's facilities.
- NLR (Netherlands Aerospace Centre)majorCarbon Sponsor. Provides knowledge, experience, and technical expertise in aerospace research and development.
- GKN AerospacemajorCarbon Sponsor. GKN Aerospace provides aerospace-grade materials and expertise supporting the structural development of the S1.
- AirbornemajorLithium Sponsor. Provides aerospace manufacturing and materials expertise supporting the production of the S1.
- AnsysmajorAluminum Sponsor. Provides simulation and finite element analysis software (Ansys) used in structural design and testing of the aircraft.
- AltiummajorAluminum Sponsor. Provides PCB design software used by the electronics team to design the custom circuit boards for the S1.
- EMRAX (Motors)majorLithium Sponsor. Provides electric motors for the propulsion system of the S1 aircraft.
- XsensmajorLithium Sponsor. Provides motion capture and sensor technology supporting the flight control and testing systems.
- ActiflowmajorLithium Sponsor. Provides fluid dynamics and aerodynamic optimization expertise for the S1 design.
- Volz ServosmajorLithium Sponsor. Provides servo motors and actuators for flight control surface actuation.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights5 records
Silverwing Personal Flight competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Lilium: Germany-based eVTOL company developing the Lilium Jet, a larger electric vertical take-off aircraft for regional air mobility. Overlaps with Silverwing's electric VTOL vision but at a much larger scale and with significant capital backing.
- Volocopter: Germany-based eVTOL pioneer developing electric multicopter air taxis for urban air mobility. Pursues a broader commercial certification path than Silverwing's student-team prototype but shares the electric VTOL architecture.
- Joby Aviation: US-listed leader in electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft for commercial air taxi service. Represents the most-capitalized competitor in the same electric VTOL category Silverwing is targeting.
Direct peers
- PteroDynamics: US company developing Transwing folding-wing VTOL aircraft for personal and cargo use. One of the five GoFly Phase II finalists and a direct competitor to Silverwing in the personal eVTOL category.
- Malloy Aeronautics: UK-based developer of hoverbike-style personal eVTOL aircraft. One of the five Boeing GoFly Phase II finalists alongside Silverwing, pursuing the same single-passenger VTOL thesis with comparable technical approach.
- Horizon Aircraft: Canadian developer of a hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft for personal air mobility. One of the five GoFly Phase II finalists alongside Silverwing, pursuing a similar urban air mobility use case.
- Opener: Developer of the BlackFly single-seat electric VTOL aircraft aimed at personal recreational and eventual on-demand air mobility. Closest commercial analog to Silverwing's S1 in terms of footprint, autonomy, and personal-use positioning.
- Aerofex: US company developing hoverbike-style personal aerial vehicles using ducted-fan technology. Competed in the Boeing GoFly Prize in the same cohort as Silverwing and shares the small-scale personal-VTOL thesis.
Emerging players
- JetPack Aviation: US company developing personal jetpack and VTOL aircraft for individual flight. Operates in the same personal-flight niche as Silverwing but uses turbine propulsion rather than electric, serving as an adjacent rather than direct competitor.
Others
- TU Delft Hyperloop (Delft Hyperloop): Sister TU Delft student Dream Team competing in the SpaceX Hyperloop competition, whose founding members founded Silverwing. Closely comparable as a TU Delft Dream Team engineering competition project with overlapping team DNA and institutional support.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Silverwing Personal Flight social profiles
Digital presenceSilverwing Personal Flight financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Silverwing Personal Flight leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Silverwing Personal Flight funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Silverwing Personal Flight M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Silverwing Personal Flight
What does Silverwing Personal Flight do?
Silverwing Personal Flight designs, develops, and prototypes an electric personal flying device called the S1, a tailsitter vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft intended for single-passenger autonomous personal air mobility. The S1 uses ducted fans, a custom battery pack, and propeller wake-flap interaction stabilization, and is built around a fully autonomous flight stack with an augmented reality interface. The product is currently a single functional prototype showcased through the Boeing GoFly competition; it is not yet commercially sold.
Is Silverwing Personal Flight a public or private company?
Silverwing Personal Flight is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Silverwing Personal Flight founded?
Silverwing Personal Flight was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Silverwing Personal Flight based?
Silverwing Personal Flight is headquartered in Delft, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Silverwing Personal Flight make money?
One revenue line is on record: research Project / Competition Prize Funding.
Who are Silverwing Personal Flight's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Lilium, Volocopter and Joby Aviation. Direct peers are PteroDynamics, Malloy Aeronautics, Horizon Aircraft, Opener and Aerofex. JetPack Aviation is listed as an emerging player. TU Delft Hyperloop (Delft Hyperloop) is listed as an others.
Does Silverwing Personal Flight have an API?
No public API is recorded for Silverwing Personal Flight.
What industry is Silverwing Personal Flight in?
Silverwing Personal Flight's product category is Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) Personal Aircraft. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABAAAJ, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Kits & Experimental Aircraft Manufacturing, with a secondary code of IMABADAI, Propellers, Rotors & Open-Rotor Propulsors. Its NAICS code is 336411 and its SIC code is 3720.