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Swedish electric aircraft manufacturer, Heart Aerospace, has joined the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), a trade association for European regional airlines and associated businesses.

Founded in 1980, ERA is a non-profit trade association representing over 55 airlines plus around another 150 companies involved in European air transport. ERA is the only association that brings together the entire spectrum of companies involved in European aviation.

The association supports and defends the airline industry in providing safe, efficient and sustainable air connectivity to all regions of Europe. By lobbying European regulatory bodies on policy matters, ERA promotes and protects social responsibility, environmental sustainability and the development of regional economies and local communities.

“We believe that electric air travel can be transformational in addressing the industry’s key sustainability challenges, and we look forward to working with the ERA in shaping the future of regional air travel in Europe,” said Anders Forslund, CEO of Heart Aerospace.

Last year, United Airlines announced plans to purchase up to 100 19-seat Heart Aerospace ES-19 electric aircraft. Heart has also gained investments from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, EQT Ventures, European Investment Council, Lower Carbon Capital, and Mesa Air Group.

“ERA is committed to supporting a transition to more sustainable aviation; hence, we are very pleased to welcome Heart Aerospace into membership. Heart is a pioneer for sustainable aviation, and with its mission to create not only the world’s greenest, but most affordable and accessible form of transport, I am sure the company will play a significant role in the future of Europe’s regional air sector,” said Montserrat Barriga, Director General, ERA.

As of publishing, Heart Aerospace will deliver the first ES-19 electric airliner certified for commercial flight by 2026.

Why it matters: For Heart Aerospace, membership of the ERA will be an important platform for cooperation and the exchange of ideas for sustainable growth of the European regional airline industry. Their participation in the association will also include Heart in important policy-making discussions for the infancy of electric flight in the EU.

Source // Heart Aerospace

Electra.Aero, developer of a hybrid-electric short take-off and landing aircraft designed for regional air mobility and logistics, has announced successful testing of its proprietary propulsion system.

Above: A rendering of Electra.aero’s eSTOL from Electra’s website. This image demonstrates the aircraft’s signature ‘Blown Lift’ technology, which uses the propellers to push additional air over the wings for extra lift. The aircraft will be able to carry up to 9 passengers or 2500lbs of cargo for over 400 NM of range, and will be able to take off and land within 300 feet.

Electra.aero, which recently acquired fellow eSTOL developer Airflow, has made another major step towards developing its aircraft by successfully testing its hybrid-electric propulsion motor with attached propellers. This static test gives Electra important insights into the performance of its system, and lends further confidence to the company’s flight characteristics goals.

The hybrid system is being integrated into Electra’s piloted technology demonstrator aircraft, to demonstrate and test Electra’s eSTOL ultra-short takeoff and landing performance and fuel burn savings. The technology is currently being developed for Electra’s 9-passenger eSTOL aircraft and will later be scaled to larger aircraft.

Said JP Stewart, Electra’s VP and General Manager: “Tightly coupling airframe and propulsion systems is the hallmark of Electra’s unique and scalable approach to providing net-zero emissions for regional and transport-category aircraft by 2050. Electra’s eSTOL aircraft uses this patent-pending technology for the urban and regional aircraft market, allowing a reduction of the 5 billion tons of CO₂ created by inefficient ground transport in personal cars every year.”

Above: Photo of the hybrid-electric propulsion system in static testing

Ultimately, Electra’s goal is to create an aircraft that significantly reduces operating costs, infrastructure requirements, and noise emissions as compared to current aircraft with the same payload and range capabilities. The short-take off and landing capabilities of the aircraft, combined with its low operating costs and high range capabilities, could open up new potential opportunities for regional transportation between cities and outlying areas. Electra already has pre-purchase agreements with several operators including Bristow, Yugo, Flapper, and FlyV.

Why it’s important: While Electra.aero’s aircraft is not an eVTOL, its design will allow it to take-off and land with less than half the energy of a comparable VTOL aircraft, within the distance of a single soccer field. This reduced energy requirement will allow the eSTOL to fly much longer distances than eVTOL aircraft, while still requiring very very minimal infrastructure as compared to modern aircraft with similar capabilities. Although Electra’s eSTOL may not work for urban rooftops, it has immense potential to transform medium-range regional transportation. With a traditional fixed-wing design, we may expect to see Electrica’s aircraft in operation very soon.

Jetson, the aviation company and manufacturer of the commercially-available Jetson ONE eVTOL, announced on September 9th that it’s set to close a $10M seed round with +$8M secured. The remainder is to be closed within the month.

Jetson is currently the only eVTOL company on the market that can provide a commercially available personal electric aviation vehicle.

Peter Ternström, Jetson co-founder and President, commented as the company approaches closure of the funding round: “our mission at Jetson is to democratize flight and make the skies available to everyone. We achieved fantastic results during our first investment round. We will now go full speed ahead with mass production, R&D and hiring top talent to bring our vision to reality.”

The lead investors in the $10M seed round are global tech operators. Luca Spada, Nik Robinson and Rikard Steiber. They all share a passion for flight and are pioneers in their respective fields.

Luca Spada, Founder and CEO of EOLO will be joining the Board of Directors together with the founders. EOLO is an Italian operator that manages one of the largest Fixed Wireless Access Networks in the World.   

Jetson investor Nik Robinson, a tech entrepreneur with an impeccable track record, and one of the most influential innovators in the internet gaming industry. Nik’s investment company Splendid Stuff covers a wide range of technology from music NFT pressing to AI analytics, electric transportation, and online gaming.

Jetson has sold over 400 units, with thousands of purchase requests during the same period.

Jetson will continue to invest in R&D, recruitment and mass production and will be opening operations in the US in 2023. Jetson’s first external investor Swedish Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Rikard Steiber will drive the US expansion plans.

The Jetson ONE is built to comply with existing FAA regulations. Making the Jetson ONE the perfect eVTOL for the US market. 

Jetson will be inviting clients with an assigned chassis number to test fly the Jetson ONE in the Spring of 2023.

The first 200 chassis are due for delivery between October and December 2023. Jetson is currently on target for 2023 delivery and working on the next steps towards mass production.

Why it’s important: Jetson’s impending closure of their first funding round will help the company maintain momentum toward initial customer test flights and orders of the Jetson ONE personal aerial vehicle. The company will need to scale the aircraft substantially in order to attain a viable commercial product that can move multiple persons across cities, but this initial revision will serve as an opportunity to be a proving vehicle for future iterations that will fly farther, carry higher loads, and have more complex systems.

United announced this week a $15 million investment in Eve Air Mobility and a conditional purchase agreement for 200 four-seat eVTOL aircraft plus 200 options. This marks another significant investment from United in eVTOL that has the potential to revolutionize the commuter experience in cities around the world. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies intend to work on future projects, including studies on the development, use and application of Eve’s eVTOL aircraft and the urban air mobility (UAM) ecosystem.

“United has made early investments in several cutting-edge technologies at all levels of the supply chain, staking out our position as a leader in aviation sustainability and innovation,” said Michael Leskinen, President of United Airlines Ventures. “United is making history again, by becoming the first major airline to publicly invest in two eVTOL companies. Our agreement with Eve highlights our confidence in the urban air mobility market and serves as another important benchmark toward our goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – without using traditional offsets. Together, we believe our suite of clean energy technologies will revolutionize air travel as we know it and serve as the catalyst for the aviation industry to move toward a sustainable future.”

“United’s investment in Eve reinforces the trust in our products and services and strengthens our position in the North American market,” said Andre Stein, co-CEO of Eve. “I am confident that our UAM agnostic solutions, coupled with the global know-how we have been developing at Eve and Embraer’s heritage, are the best fit for this initiative, giving United’s customers a quick, economical and sustainable way to get to its hub airports and commute in dense urban environments. It is an unparalleled opportunity to work with United to advance the US UAM ecosystem, and we look forward to it.”

United’s investment in Eve was driven in part by confidence in the potential growth opportunities in the UAM market and by Eve’s unique relationship with Embraer, a trusted aircraft manufacturer with a proven track record of building and certifying aircraft over the company’s 53-year history. This relationship includes access to Embraer’s service centers, parts warehouses, and field service technicians, paving the way for a reliable operation. Upon entry into service, United could have its entire eVTOL fleet serviced by Eve’s agnostic service and support operations. Moreover, United joins the consortium led by Eve, which will simulate UAM operations in Chicago from September 12th.

With a range of 60 miles (100 km), Eve’s VTOL aircraft has the potential not only to offer a sustainable commute but also to reduce noise levels by 90 percent as compared to aircraft like helicopters. Eve is also creating a new air traffic management solution designed for the UAM industry to scale safely. This software is intended to perform at the same safety level as Embraer’s existing air traffic management software and is expected to be a strategic asset in helping the entire industry grow.

This announcement also closely follows United’s recent firm purchase commitment for 100 of Archer’s eVTOL aircraft. Learn more about this purchase here.

Why it matters: United was the first major U.S. airline to create a corporate venture fund, United Airlines Ventures (UAV), designed to support the company’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 without the use of traditional offsets. Through UAV, United has led the industry in investments in eVTOL and electric aircraft, hydrogen fuel cell engines, and sustainable aviation fuel. This new partnership with Eve further solidifies United’s commitment to electric aviation and aerial mobility, keeping it at the forefront of this new push by major airlines.

Source // United

Related:

• United Airlines Completes $10M Pre-Payment for 100 Archer eVTOL Aircraft (August 2022)
• United Airlines Orders $1B in Archer Vehicles (February 2021)
• American Airlines Solidifies Delivery Slots for Vertical Aerospace eVTOL Aircraft (July 2022)
• Eve, Blade Partner to Simulate eVTOL Operations (August 2022)

Honeywell recently announced that it will be hosting its own Summit on aerial mobility technology later this month in Washington D.C.

According to Honeywell, the Air Mobility Summit aims to aims to “help speed the evolution of aerial transportation in a safe, sustainable, and affordable way.” To this end, the invitation-only conference will be attended by policymakers, regulators, and technology leaders.

Featured panels and keynote events at the Summit will focus on Urban Air Mobility, Unmanned Aerial Systems, new kinds of Regional Air Mobility, and the regulatory gaps remaining to make these technologies an everyday reality. In particular, many events will focus on how these technologies can maintain United States’ competitiveness on a global scale, and the economic and societal benefits they can bring.

Speakers at the Summit will include members of congress, FAA officials, executive leaders from key advanced air mobility companies, and more. With this unique gathering of individuals, Honeywell hopes to align business interests with those of regulatory bodies, including state and local governments.

“From all-electric air taxis to uncrewed cargo delivery drones, together, we’re helping move transportation from the road to the air with electrically powered vertical take-off and landing aircraft for sustainable, high-speed air mobility.” -Honeywell’s Save the Date page for the Air Mobility Summit.

Above: The Lilium Jet eVTOL, which will feature cockpit and propulsion technologies by Honeywell

Honeywell is well-placed to host this conference, as it had made investments and partnerships in the advanced aerial mobility industry nearly since its inception. In particular, Honeywell has formed technology partnerships with notable eVTOL developers like Lilium, Pipistrel, Volocopter and Vertical Aerospace to provide flight controls, propulsion technologies, and more. Between 2020 and 2019, Honeywell announced an entirely new business unit dedicated to Aerial Mobility, as well cooling systems, fly-by-wire, and e-motor projects specifically for eVTOL aircraft.

Why it’s important: Honeywell, with a vast amount of resources and experiences in flight technologies, has recognized the immense potential value of electric aerial mobility technologies since as early as 2019. Since then, it has worked hard to set itself up as one of the top technology providers in this new field. With this new Summit, Honeywell can further put itself as the forefront of the Aerial Mobility industry, while at the same time promoting collaboration and advancement for the entire industry.

Related:

• Honeywell’s New Business Unit for Aerial Mobility (July 2020)
• Honeywell Releases Their New Compact Fly-By-Wire System for UAM (June 2019)
• Honeywell’s Electric Engine to Advance UAM (April 2019)
• New eVTOL Visual Flight Control Hardware To Be Developed by Daedalean and Honeywell (January 2020)
• Honeywell to Equip Volocopter with Autonomous Landing Systems (April 2019)
• Vertical Aerospace eVTOL to be Equipped with Latest Honeywell Flight Deck Technology (August 2020)
• Honeywell To Provide Cockpit Technologies For 7-Seater Lilium Jet (June 2021)

South Korea’s resort island of Jeju will launch air routes for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and drone taxis dedicated to tourists in the island by 2025, as the first municipality in the country to do so. 

As depicted above, Kencoa Aerospace has already initiated the mapping of potential air routes for UAM and drone taxis that will connect Jeju Island’s popular tourist spots.

Aimed at offering quick and accessible air mobility in the near future, the routes will connect the island’s popular tourist spots through the coast with quick and accessible air mobility in the near future, an executive who devised the idea told The Korea Herald on Thursday. 

Jeju Island, together with South Korean aviation company Kencoa Aerospace and the Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC), has devised three types of UAM routes on the island.

The first route connects Jeju International Airport to the island’s southern Mosupo area, which then links Moseulpo to further down to Gapado and Marado. The third route moves along the east coast near Seongsan Ilchulbong, a popular site also known as Sunrise Peak.

“This would allow tourists to hop on the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at Jeju airport to directly land at tour spots and transfer to drone taxis nearby. The time frame would be around 2025,” said Kencoa Aerospace Executive Chung Chan-young.

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province also plans to set up a Vertiport –- a helipad-like area that can be on land, water or a structure on which eVTOLs can take off and land — at large-scale hotels where many visitors stay.

Jeju’s idea of deploying UAM as tourist transportation is highly feasible and can happen early, Chung said, citing Seoul City’s plan to “test” a UAM route that connects Gimpo International Airport to central Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The plan, however, has hit a snag as the presidential office was relocated to Yongsan-gu in May.

“Flying a UAM aircraft through the coast in the island faces less troubles compared to running an air taxi in Seoul, where flying drones or aircrafts in areas like Yongsan is heavily restricted by government regulations,” said Chung.

According to the Transport Ministry, major districts in Seoul and the entire airspace along the Han River are no-fly zones.

“Jeju works as a perfect test bed and the best location to leverage UAM for the area’s advantages. Examining geographical features through the coastline is less complicated, and establishing a Vertiport on the sea can also work,” Chung added. 

Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry has submitted its draft of a bill that would set up requirements and regulations for UAM, The Korea Herald learned through interviews. It is the first of its kind in the world, according to sources. If approved by the National Assembly, South Korea would become the first country to have regulations dedicated to UAM, the sources added.

The special law is expected to separate UAM from the legal boundary of the current aviation law. Flying cars would be advised not to fly within the altitude of helicopters, which is at around 450 meters above ground. The rule for UAM could range between 300 to 600 meters above land. 

Related: Jaunt and MintAir partner to launch aerial mobility service in South Korea

Why it’s important: This announcement has preceded any coordination with a specific OEM that will be contracted to provide the vehicles to enable the Jeju Island air taxi service. It can be expected that this will ignite competition amongst manufacturers and operators as they seek to showcase their value proposition to the South Korean municipality; ultimately, the air taxi provider to win the contract will likely obtain an edge in the industry via the newly acquired market share.

Additionally, the specific airspace regulations being coordinated to enable these commercial operations on Jeju Island are exactly the efforts that are going to enable rapid proliferation of aerial mobility in similar regions across the globe.

Source // Korea Herald

uAvionix announced today that it is developing LTE support and a new airborne radio manager dubbed “muLTElink” for its SkyLine Command and Control (C2) Network. SkyLine’s ability to roam across multiple ground stations is now enhanced through the additional capability onboard the aircraft, which enables an aircraft to seamlessly transition in-flight between different onboard C2 radios such as ISM and C-Band, or leverage the integral diversity LTE radio without latency or risk of a lost link.

Avoiding a lost link scenario is critical to Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) aircraft operations.  Every radio and frequency has advantages and disadvantages depending on the geographic location and altitude of the operation, and a LTE enabled link and added layer of redundancy (muLTElink) allows for seamless and lossless switching between different radio types. An example uAvionix provided is the typical example of LTE coverage which works well under 400’ in given locations, but as the aircraft transitions to higher altitudes or more rural locations, the need arises to switch to an alternate link such as C-Band to maintain control of the aircraft.

Related: uAvionix Begins Flight Testing of its BVLOS C-band Radio

Why it’s important: A third layer of datalink for BVLOS operations will increase reliability of link integrity and allow for greater confidence in the remote operation of drones and sUAS systems in new areas. Further, increased reliability of LTE connectivity and 5G connectivity may ultimately allow for additional redundancy of communication channels to be phased out.

For over 100 years, ASTM has been creating international standards for transportation infrastructure and more. Now, with the future of aerial mobility in mind, the company has released an 11-page standards document for vertiports to be used by upcoming eVTOL aircraft.

ASTM been creating international standards since as early as 1898 for railways, and currently has over 12,000 standards in operation globally.

Vertiport concept by Ferrovial

The newest standards release by ASTM, named the Standard Specification for Vertiport Design, “defines the requirements for the planning, design, and establishment of vertiports intended to service vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft.” According to the overview from ASTM, every kind of eVTOL aircraft was considered in the creation of this document, including Multi-Rotor, Lift & Cruise, Vectored Thrust, Tilt-Wing, and Tilt-Rotor, as well as possibilities for piloted, optionally piloted, and unmanned aircraft. The document does not apply to aircraft under 55 lbs.

In the document, standards specifications are made for components of civil vertiports and vertistops like occupant and cargo transport, air medical, flight instruction, aerial work, aircraft rental, fueling, charging of energy storage devices, battery exchange, hangaring, and maintenance services.

Notbaly, ASTM uses this document to provide separate standards for both vertiports and ‘vertistops’. It defines a vertistop as having the same geometry and airspace as a vertiport, but without fueling, defueling, scheduled maintenance, scheduled repairs, or storage of aircraft. According to ASTM, a vertistop facility would be meant for the discharge of passengers or cargo only.

Vertiport concept by Ferrovial

Said ASTM International Fellow Jonathan Daniels, “Everyone involved in the development and implementation of AAM transportation, and its supporting infrastructure will find this standard extremely helpful.” Said Rex Alexander, another ASTM International member, “The challenge in developing this standard was in balancing safety with practicality. Without empirical aircraft performance data to rely on, the team’s goal was to develop a practical standard as a starting point that is not only safety centric but provides municipalities with a common-sense path forward.”

The full standards document from ASTM can be downloaded here.

The vertiport standards were created over the course of a five-year effort by ASTM, with the stipulation that local governments will of course still have the right to decide to what extent these standards are applied, and will still be responsible for all safety regulations. The document serves as a guideline of standards for vertiports, which governments can use to build of off as a baseline rather than starting from scratch.

The effort also relates to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, such as affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, and climate action.

Vertiport Concept by Ferrovial

Why it’s important: While governments worldwide will still have the responsibility and ability to set regulations standards on eVTOLs and vertiports, the ASTM documentation provides an excellent set of standards which vertiport designers can follow to create excellent experiences both for travellers and the areas in which vertiports are built. In addition, ASTM takes a further step by also creating standards for ‘vertistops’, which it recognizes as an integral part of Advanced Aerial Mobility networks. By looking at the big picture for aerial mobility networks, ASTM has begun to lay a foundation for what eVTOL networks in cities and more could look like globally.

Source // ASTM International, Urban Air Mobility News, Ferrovial

Related:

• Skyportz Announces Plans for Australia’s First Vertiport in Melbourne (August 2022)
• World’s First Vertiport Opens in Coventry, UK (April 2022)
• EASA Publishes Design Specifications for Vertiports (March 2022)
• Several EU Airports Partner On Vertiport Development (October 2021)

The Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence, or NAAMCE, Aug. 23, 2022, in Springfield, Ohio. 

The facility came from $9.35 million in investments from the Department of Defense, JobsOhio and the city of Springfield. NAAMCE will facilitate collaborations between Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, the Ohio Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center, local colleges and universities, and private industry to support the development of electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, vehicles and other Advanced Air Mobility projects. 
  
“Springfield is at the cutting edge of a technology that is going to lead us into the future,” said Springfield city manager Bryan Heck. “[NAAMCE] builds on the already existing infrastructure that has taken some time but has quickly taken off … as Springfield becomes one of the leaders in electric vertical takeoff and landing technology.” 
  
Additional speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony included U.S. representatives Mike Turner, Warren Davidson and Mike Carey; Ohio State Senator Bob Hackett and Ohio State Representative Kyle Hoehler; as well as other leaders. The presenters emphasized the region’s attractiveness for the Air Mobility Industry, given its existing infrastructure and more affordable cost of living. 

The groundbreaking ceremony was one of the highlights of the 2022 National Advanced Air Mobility Industry Forum, which took place Aug. 22-23, 2022. The first day of the forum took place at the Clark State Hollenbeck Bailey Conference Center and neighboring Performing Arts Center. The event brought together military, manufacturers, suppliers and academia for networking, flight demonstrations and displays in an effort to cement Ohio and the Miami Valley as the center of development of Advanced Air Mobility and the “Third Revolution in Flight.”  

“There are two transformative technologies in aerospace today,” said retired Col.  Joe Zeis, Aerospace and Defense Adviser for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “One is hypersonics – The ability to reach anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds. The other is at the low-speed end, what we’re talking about, Advanced Air Mobility.” 
  
During his keynote address, Zeis emphasized the goal of maintaining Ohio’s position as an aerospace industry leader. This would be accomplished through protecting and expanding federal aerospace installations, increasing research, working with organizations to develop private industry and growing a science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, educated and trained workforce, he said. 

Throughout the two-day forum, several panel discussions covered a variety of topics, including the challenges surrounding development and certification of eVTOL vehicles. Due to the newness of eVTOL technology, comparatively little data exists, and standardized processes have not been developed to test and certify eVTOL aircraft — issues that are meant to be mitigated by AFWERX’s Agility Prime, the Air Force’s initiative to work with industry on accelerating development of commercial eVTOL aircraft for more rapid development and fielding. 

“We are together pushing the state of the art in what the Air Force will look at for its next generation of, not only air vehicles, but space vehicles,” said Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle, commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory. “What AFWERX has done with Agility Prime is they have capitalized on the fast-paced industry technology advancements, and they have followed it up trying to nest the military requirement and a piece of it and not hindering in any way the commercial development.” 

Agility Prime’s efforts are intended to reduce the bureaucratic, regulatory and financial burdens of developing and certifying eVTOL aircraft with the military, NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration. Potential uses for eVTOL aircraft include disaster relief, humanitarian efforts, medical transport and movement of personnel and materiel, among others. 

Why it matters: Long time aerial mobility partner, the AFRL, and their Agility Prime initiative have served to propel the development of eVTOL technologies. This new facility and partnerships with both the public and private sector, as well as academic circles, promise to keep the momentum strong towards advancing eVTOL design, manufacture, and operation.

Source: AFRL Press Release

MintAir has just signed a Letter of Intent with Jaunt Air Mobility to form a strategic partnership and purchase Jaunt Journey electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. MintAir has agreed to order up to 40 of Jaunt’s aircraft to bring air mobility services to the Korean markets. MintAir will serve as Jaunt’s exclusive Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) partner in the Korean market. 

Jaunt Air Mobility aircraft will be designed and manufactured in Montreal, Canada.  President Eric Cote stated, “Canada is a global exporter of aerospace and with customers like MintAir, Jaunt is developing partnerships worldwide”.

Jaunt is approaching the design and certification of an eVTOL from a unique market position utilizing Slowed Rotor Compound (SRC) technologies and partnerships with Tier 1 aerospace suppliers. “The Jaunt Journey’s aircraft design offers the safest air taxi configuration that is operationally efficient, quiet, and sustainable,” says Martin Peryea, CEO of Jaunt. Martin Peryea has more than 40 years of commercial aviation experience certifying rotorcraft.

MintAir is building an AAM service in the Republic of Korea and will work with Jaunt to launch commercial passenger air transportation operations in several Korean markets. MintAir intends to launch AAM services with a particular type of eVTOL design, electric rotorcraft with a single main rotor like the Jaunt Journey. Electric rotorcraft provide superior safety through autorotation, energy-saving efficiency, lower operating costs, and a clear path to certification.

“Our mission is to develop the safest Advanced Air Mobility service in both urban and rural environments based on sound ESG management,” quoted Eugene Choi, CEO of MintAir, and “Jaunt Air Mobility is committed to those same principles throughout the aircraft’s lifecycle. And we are confident the Jaunt Journey will transport the public with the highest level of safety.”

“We are pleased to team with MintAir to bring this new form of advanced air transportation to the Korean markets,” said Simon Briceno, Chief Commercial Officer for Jaunt. “We are excited to showcase our safe and efficient aircraft to the Korean public.”

Why it’s important: Jaunt does not expect to start delivering the Journey until 2026. However, last month the company announced it intends to establish a final assembly line for its aircraft in India before the end of this decade to serve the South Asian market. The move is based on its earlier partnership with the country’s L&T Technology Services group. This announcement, as well as the reveal of intentions to serve the South Korean market, will likely bolster the valuation of Jaunt’s parent company, AIRO Group, as it nears the final stages of an initial public offering (IPO).

Skyportz announced today the design for the first vertiport in Australia to service the emerging electric air taxi industry at the AAUS annual Advanced Air Mobility summit in Melbourne.

The vertiport will be located at Caribbean Park in Melbourne’s east, the fastest growing business precinct outside of the Melbourne CBD.

Caribbean Park and Skyportz have worked with Contreras Earl Architects, to70 aviation, ARUP and Microflite to come up with a practical, modular design to satisfy operational requirements to operate as a vertiport for Advanced Air Mobility.

“With the development of a vertiport in a business park we are breaking the nexus between aviation and airports. For this industry to succeed it needs to have policy makers pushing the envelope to support new “mini airports” in locations people want to go”, said Clem Newton-Brown, CEO of Skyportz.

“However community support is going to be the key to the development of these services. The community is going to have to see the benefits”

“Electric air taxis will be a new era in aviation where clean, green and quiet small aircraft can take people to places they want to go – be it work or leisure. The Caribbean Park vertiport is the first in a network of sites we will establish in advance of the aircraft becoming operational” said Newton-Brown.

The Federal regulator, CASA recently released a roadmap for the introduction of Advanced Air Mobility to Australia and various States are also trying to attract the investment which will flow from being a frontrunner in this new aviation industry.

It is anticipated that some eVTOL aircraft will be commercially in the coming years, with some timelines including 2024 for limited initial passenger carrying flights. There are over 300 designs in development and the frontrunners are already flying prototypes.

Skyportz will be seeking investment partners to fund the construction of the vertiport at Caribbean Park which will be the first in a stable of vertiports strategically located around Australia.

Why it’s important: Skyportz’ approval for usage of Melbourne’e east location is a milestone step along the path for the company to now shift focus to obtaining funding and construction partners for the project. The location will support the Melbourne urban area’s commuting requirements, and the project’s success is largely contingent on efficiently linking to other facets of the transportation system. This includes the Melbourne International Airport as well as other tertiary cities nearby, such as Geelong, and the viability of repurposing helicopter landing pads to create a network of eVTOL routes that will supplant a main hub in Melbourne.

Embraer’s Eve will conduct its first North American UAM simulation using helicopters in partnership with Blade Urban Air Mobility. With these simulations, the company aims to study operations, ground services, passenger journeys and eVTOL operator needs, creating more accessible and faster connections to Downtown Chicago. Eve will conduct its Chicago, Ill. UAM simulation over three weeks, starting with ground tests on September 12th and passenger flights on the 14th. Following the simulation, the city of Chicago will gain knowledge about the infrastructure and ecosystem needed to enable the launch and expected long-term growth of UAM in the area.

“Simulating the eVTOL operation in Chicago allows us to study how people will experience this service and understand the entire ecosystem requirements for our product and services, while showcasing the benefit of Urban Air Mobility in one of North America’s most prominent and populated cities,” said André Stein, co-CEO of Eve. “We are wrapping up preparations to execute these simulations seamlessly and look forward to helping prepare Chicago for a local zero-emission UAM solution that is quiet, efficient, and sustainable.”

Eve will perform the ground tests at Vertiport Chicago, an existing downtown heliport facility simulating services, infrastructure, and equipment requirements for eVTOL. In planned UAM infrastructure, Vertiports will be any area of land or a structure used for the landing, take-off, charging and operation of eVTOL vehicles.

“For Eve, it is essential to understand and address through these projects involving partners and the community the key challenges associated with the main pillars of the UAM ecosystem. Our proposal brings together all stakeholders and counts on different views and feedback to structure and deliver the best solutions,” said Luiz Mauad, Vice President of Services and Fleet Operations at Eve.

For this simulation, Eve has formed a consortium of partners, including Blade, Republic Airways, Halo Aviation, Vertiport Chicago, Village of Tinley Park, Village of Schaumburg, ACCIONA, SkyWest, Inc. and Speedbird Aero. A helicopter replicating Eve’s future eVTOL will transport passengers from the Vertiport Chicago facility to two helistops located northwest and southwest of Chicago. The first route will connect Vertiport Chicago to Schaumburg Municipal Helistop, and the second route will connect Vertiport Chicago to Tinley Park Helistop in Illinois. 

Rendering of Embraer’s Eve eVTOL in flight

Why it matters: Blade and Eve partnering in Chicago to simulate eVTOL operations will provide great operational data to eVTOL makers. Special considerations like loading/unloading times, Vertiport operations, and infrastructure requirements will serve to bring a better product offering for aerial mobility in the future. Expect similar studies to be conducted as eVTOL makers pivot from design and testing to operationalizing their prototypes.

Source: Eve press release

Ryse’s Recon, a small eVTOL designed for farmers and similar workers to get surveillance of large areas of land, has officially completed its first piloted test flights near the company’s headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Recon, while small, is an impressive aircraft that offers a high degree of functionality. Its six all-electric motors allow it to fly at heights of 400 ft, up to about 60mph, for a flight time of 25 minutes. Although this may not make it a city commuter, the Ohio-based Ryse is positioning this aircraft as a tool for farmers and other workers who need accessible surveillance over large plots of land. The Recon classifies as an Ultralight aircraft, meaning it can be flown without a full pilot’s license.

Originally Ryse had recreation in mind for its aircraft, but as the business advanced, the company turned to agriculture applications. The pivot came after Founder Mick Kowitz noted that many farms currently use ATVs or small utility vehicles for these purposes, which do not offer aerial views.

Kowitz states, “We started looking at who would be a great early adopter for this technology. I have good friends that are farmers with large farms and they’re like the perfect market for this.” He went on to highlight that farmers have long been the first to take on new technologies including GPS, automation, and autonomy.

The Recon’s battery packs, located directly under each propeller, are easily removable, meaning that depleted battery packs can immediately be swapped out for fresh packs. Kowitz suggests that, “A user could set up remote charging stations that are solar powered with more packs. That way if they’re 20 miles out and don’t feel they have the range to return they could swap in fresh batteries from a remote station.”

Ryse first debuted the Recon in May of 2022, and the company has been visiting farming and agriculture trade shows around the U.S in the months since. The company was originally founded in 2021, in Mason, Ohio. While Ryse is currently focusing on agriculture as a main use case, it also is considering applications in rural transportation, generalized land surveillance, tourism, logistics, search and rescue, and more.

Why it’s important: With its ease-of-use and highly efficient training time, Ryse’s Recon could quickly become a staple for many farming operations. Unlike larger aircraft in development, the Recon fits under existing U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Part 103 regulations, which means it will not need new types of certifications to fly or be sold. With such low barriers to entry including a reasonable price tag, low maintenance and certification needs, and an immediately applicable business use case already identified, the Recon has a solid chance of becoming one of the first widely-sold eVTOL aircraft in the U.S.

Related:

• Blueflite Receives Testing Grant from Michigan Economic Development Corporation (August 2022)
• Mayman Aerospace debuts Speeder Air Utility Vehicle (AUV) at Draper Venture CEO Summit (July 2022)
• Jetson ONE completes ‘first-ever eVTOL commute’ (June 2022)

Sources // Ryse Aerotech, Western FarmPress