South Korean manufacturer PLANA won the Professional Concept prize at the iF Design Awards for the design of its advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft in Germany.
PLANA is just the third eVTOL manufacturer to win the award after Lilium, based in Germany, and the United Kingdom’s Vertical Aerospace.
The aircraft design got the nod of approval out of 11,000 products for its “exceptional design, which focuses on passenger comfort, safety, and convenience.” It possesses six tilt rotors and an aerodynamic exterior for maximum stability, with the ability to hold up to six passengers.
Jinmo Lee, the Chief Product Officer (CPO) of PLANA, was thrilled to win the award and vowed to “continue investing in research and development to stay at the forefront of the air mobility industry.”
The iF Design Awards held annually in Germany is known to be one of the top three design awards in the world, alongside the Red Dot Design Award and IDEA.
PLANA has applied for four design registrations with the Korean Intellectual Property Office since last year. It confirmed that some applications, including for the aircraft’s cockpit, are pending.
Last month, PLANA opened branches in the United States to accelerate the process to get its aircraft certificated. The design award is another step in the right direction for the Yongin-based firm.
It also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jeju Air centered around the development of an AAM ecosystem and joined forces with Volatus Infrastructure for the establishment of vertiports and the integration of eVTOLs.