Month: May 2022

Surf Air Mobility announced on May 18th signature of contracts with magniX, a leader in electric aviation propulsion, and AeroTEC, a premier aircraft development and integration company, to develop and certify hybrid and fully-electric powertrains for new and existing Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft. These hybrid and fully-electric aircraft will be designed to reduce operating costs and emissions and greatly improve the affordability of regional air mobility.

Further, the mobility company announced a business combination agreement with Tuscan Holdings Corp. II (“THCA”), that will result in Surf Air Mobility becoming a publicly listed company (subject to approval of certain conditions).

Surf Air Mobility shared in a statement that it plans to develop supplemental type certificates (“STC”) for its proprietary electrification solutions, powered by magniX’s market-leading electric propulsion units (“EPUs”). AeroTEC will provide engineering, testing, program management, and certification expertise to support design, development, and FAA Certification. magniX and AeroTEC have successfully flown a fully-electric Cessna Grand Caravan 208B, demonstrating the technology and proving the feasibility of the future of electrified air travel.

Surf Air Mobility intends to first develop and commercialize hybrid electric aircraft to accelerate entry into market for operators and consumers of sustainable air travel without the need for charging infrastructure. The hybrid electric Cessna Grand Caravans will, in due course, be operated on Surf Air Mobility’s consumer platform and intends to make these available to third-party operators.

SAM’s first-generation hybrid electric Cessna Grand Caravans are being designed to target carbon emissions reductions of up to 50% and direct operating cost reductions of up to 25%. The Company anticipates its initial hybrid electric Cessna Grand Caravans, once developed, will have the same flight range as their turbine combustion engine counterpart, allowing the hybrid electric Cessna Grand Caravan to operate on regional routes across the US. The hybrid electric Cessna Grand Caravans will not require charging infrastructure on the ground.

Why it’s important: This announcement follows a trend of many mobility companies announcing integration or investments in electric aircraft to their fleets, to allow for the baseline infrastructure to be established ahead of the ultimate goal of a fully electrified fleet of aircraft. Further, the trend of hybrid-electric aircraft serving as the first iteration away from the currently all combustion engine fleets of Part 135 and Part 121 operators will likely mirror the ultimate shift of the industry towards fully electric and autonomous vehicles, as the technological shifts are worked piecemeal over time.

Joby Aviation, a prime eVTOL air taxi developer in the U.S, has officially received its Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate from the FAA (Federal Aviation administration). This certification allows Joby to conduct commercial operations, once its aircraft is fully certified.

Joby’s announcement of Part 135 Certification, announced on May 26th of 2022, comes in ahead of schedule, as it was originally predicted for the back half of 2022. The certification is especially significant as it legally authorizes Joby as a company to carry fare-paying passengers. According to Joby, attaining this certification required the company to submit over 850 pages of manuals for approval, and required Joby’s initial set of pilots to demonstrate mastery of the company’s procedures and training under FAA observation.

With this announcement, Joby has become the first passenger-grade eVTOL developer in the U.S to recieve its Part 135 Certification. Companies such as Amazon, Walmart, Wing and UPS have received this certification for drone delivery, but those aircraft can only carry small packages for short distances, making Joby’s announcement a historic event.

Joby will still need a Type Certificate and a Production Certificate for its aircraft to begin operations, but is working closely on these goals with both the FAA and NASA.

Said Bonny Simi, Head of Air Operations and People at Joby: “The procedures we’ve prepared lay a foundation for our future eVTOL operations. Over the coming months, we will use our Part 135 certificate to exercise the operations and customer technology platforms that will underpin our multi-modal ridesharing service, while also refining our procedures to ensure seamless journeys for our customers.”

Above: Aerial view of Joby’s eVTOL aircraft

Joby’s eVTOL has already made significant progress in the U.S by receiving Airworthiness Approval from the United States Air Force, and conducting flight tests in the thousands. Joby’s aircraft can take-off and land vertically, is fully electric, can fly up to 150 miles per flight, and can carry four passengers plus a pilot at speeds up to 200 mph.

Why it’s important: The Part 135 Certification was one of three major certifications that Joby needs in order to begin passenger-carrying air taxi operations. Once Joby receives full certification for its aircraft, which requires a Type Certification and a Production Certification, Joby will be fully authorized to begin commercial air taxi services. Joby is targeting Type Certification for 2023, with Production Certification soon to follow.

Source // Joby Aviation

Related:

• Joby Completes 150-mile Flight, Begins Part 135 Certification Process (July 2021)
• Joby Aviation Begins Certification Testing (February 2022)
• Joby, CAE to Partner for eVTOL Aircraft Simulators (March 2022)
• Joby Releases Results from NASA Acoustics Testing (May 2022)
• Amazon Receives FAA Approval for Drone Deliveries (September 2020)
• FAA Approves UPS as Drone Airline for Commercial Deliveries (October 2019)
• Drone Package Delivery in the US: Google’s Wing is First (May 2019)

In an effort to attract talent and technology from independent innovators and startups, Embraer has launched the Energia Initiative. Energia is a family of all-electric, hybrid, and hydrogen fuel-cell aircraft which Embraer will develop in collaboration with outside organizations and innovators.

This week, Embraer announced it has completed its first in-person consortium with independent innovators interested in advancing aerospace technologies. At the event, 16 organizations from across the world were invited to present to Embraer on topics such as electric powertrains, fuel cells, and battery technologies.

“To meet the climate challenge it is essential to encourage every innovation path, not just rely on traditional players. Embraer has a natural affinity with nimble innovators, and we believe the growing eco-system of small, tech-savvy start-ups have a huge contribution to make – if given the opportunity.” said Carlos Illario of Embraer. “We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge. Some of the technologies aviation needs are yet to be discovered. So, it is essential to harness all the world’s available talent to find answers that work, are affordable, and practical in the real world.”

With the first startup day wrapped up, Embraer hopes to extend invitations to organizations with business ideas to innovate in cabin systems, connectivity, ground handling, and more. Embraer’s Energia Initiative will likely become a powerful voice for helping transform commercial aviation and will surely have trickling effects into eVTOL technologies and aerial mobility applications.

Above: Embraer’s vision for the company’s future hybrid-electric, all-electric, and hydrogen cell aircraft.

Why it matters: Advancements in propulsion powertrains and battery technologies will be critical to realizing and commercialization of urban aerial mobility. By inviting outsiders to collaborate in the future of its aviation products, Embraer is showing its commitment to furthering these technologies through innovative development practices.

Lilium has partnered with Honeywell and DENSO, who will co-develop and manufacture the Lilium Jet’s electric motor (e-motor) that will power the Lilium Jet’s engines. Honeywell is already developing the Lilium Jet’s avionics and flight control systems and has been invested in Lilium since 2021.

The Lilium e-motor is a proprietary, high-performance system, on which Lilium, DENSO and Honeywell teams have been working for nearly two years. It is expected to bring exceptional performance and reliability with zero operating emissions typically associated with commercial jet engines. An air-cooled design offers structural simplicity and ease of maintenance compared with traditional liquid cooling systems, and therefore has the potential to significantly reduce aircraft operating costs.

The e-motor has its rotor and stator in a centrifugal or ‘radial’ configuration, compared to traditional axial designs. This lowers the component’s weight, manufacturing costs and susceptibility to foreign object damage. It also boasts industry-leading power density, with the first prototypes designed to extract over 100kW of power from a system weighing just over 4kg.

Yves Yemsi, Chief Operating Officer of Lilium said: “Lilium’s Procurement strategy is to engage with the technology providers with the most suitable expertise. We are already making great progress with Honeywell on its Honeywell Anthem integrated flight deck and flight control computers, and we are delighted to deepen our relationship by also partnering with Honeywell and DENSO on our e-motor. The collaboration with these two powerhouses takes us further along the path to revolutionizing regional air mobility.”

Stéphane Fymat, vice president and general manager of Urban Air Mobility, Honeywell Aerospace said: “Honeywell has been at the forefront of innovation in aviation for a century, and we are proud to closely collaborate with DENSO and help usher in the age of electric flight. Lilium’s innovation, combined with our experience in aerospace, will help to bring about cleaner, more sustainable ways for people to travel for centuries to come.”

Koji Ishizuka, senior director of the Electric Sora-Mobi Business Promotion Department at DENSO, said: “DENSO’s focus is powering the shift to a green, safe and seamless mobility future for all. We’re grateful to work with Honeywell and Lilium on making air travel cleaner and more efficient, and in doing so, we have the opportunity to apply our electrification expertise to vehicles on land and in the sky.”

Why it’s important: Honeywell is a leader in aerospace technologies with over 100 years of experience, and already has an alliance with automotive giant DENSO to develop aerospace electric propulsion solutions. Through this collaboration, the Lilium Jet’s e-motor will benefit from Honeywell’s aerospace expertise as well as DENSO’s experience in high-quality volume production.

VoltAero announced the launch of a fractional ownership program in Europe on May 18th, opening new sustainable air mobility opportunities with its family of Cassio aircraft powered by the company’s unique electric-parallel hybrid propulsion system.
 
VoltAero will announce this new opportunity at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, in conjunction with the opening of initial expressions of interest for fractional ownership share positions, beginning with its five-seat Cassio 330 – the first version of VoltAero’s aircraft family to enter production.
 
Equipped with VoltAero’s proprietary 330-kW electric-parallel hybrid- propulsion system, Cassio 330s are to be positioned at regional and local airports across Europe to meet user demand.
 
The fractional ownership program is planned to then expand beyond the first model with others: the Cassio 480, configured with six seats and powered by a 480-kilowatt hybrid propulsion system; and the Cassio 600, with a 10-12-seat capacity and 600 kilowatts of hybrid power. All aircraft three versions share a high degree of modularity and commonality. 
 
During the three-day EBACE, which opens May 23 at the Geneva Palexpo convention center, VoltAero’s team will be available on the company’s exhibit for meetings and to sign potential customers for the fractional ownership program (Booth IZ_03).
 
VoltAero’s proprietary electric-parallel hybrid powertrain has undergone extensive flight evaluations with the company’s Cassio 1 demonstrator aircraft, covering nearly 10,000 kilometers in operations across Europe on typical general aviation and air taxi/charter route segments – thereby de-risking it for airworthiness certification.
 
With this powertrain integrated in the aft pusher position, Cassio aircraft will utilize the propulsion system’s electric motors for all-electric power during taxi, takeoff, primary flight, and landing. The hybrid aspect – with an internal combustion engine – comes into play as a range extender, recharging the batteries while in flight. Additionally, this hybrid element serves as a backup for the electric propulsion, ensuring true fail-safe functionality.
 
The Cassio airframe’s design is based on a sleek, aerodynamically optimized fuselage, a forward canard, and an aft-set wing with twin booms that support a high-set horizontal tail. It will be qualified to Europe’s EASA CS23 certification specification as a single-engine, general aviation category aircraft, and is designed from the start for a low cost of ownership.
 
VoltAero will assemble the Cassio aircraft in a dedicated production facility at Rochefort Airport in France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Groundbreaking is scheduled during 2022.

Why it’s important: Fractional ownerships are commonplace among private aircraft owners in the world, and with VoltAero’s rollout of this popular option for defraying costs of operation, the aerial mobility space is now making progress toward increasing the flexibility and lowering the barrier to entry for potential owners and/or operators of hybrid electric aircraft.

German delivery drone developer company Wingcopter has signed an agreement with Continental Drones Ltd, a subsidiary of a larger holdings group, to bring over 12,000 delivery drones to the African Continent in order to both improve existing supply chains and create entirely new ones.

Header image from Continental Drones’ website

Over the last several years, Wingcopter has become one of the world’s most prominent and highly advanced drone delivery companies. Its aircraft, the Wingcopter 198, can fly completely autonomously, and can carry up to 6kg of cargo for distances up to 110km at a time. So far, Wingcopter has also made agreements with German Airways to deliver spare parts for wind farms, with Spright for medical supplies deliveries in the US, and with SYNERJET Corporation operations in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Panama, and Guatemala. 

Now, Wingcopter has secured its largest deal yet, with holding company Atlantic Trust Holding, to deploy over 12,000 Wingcopter drones throughout Africa over the next five years. With these all-electric aircraft, Atlantic Trust Holding hopes to create air delivery networks throughout Africa in order to better distribute supplies such as medicines, vaccines, and laboratory samples, as well as essential goods for daily use. With these new networks, communities that have poor road access could soon have air-delivery connections to get goods from larger communities, vastly improving distribution of potentially life-saving equipment.

The new agreement is being done through Atlantic Trust Holding, a large umbrella company that has subsidiaries like OmniTrade Africa, International Energy Services Limited, and Atlantic eBanc Global systems. For this effort, Atlantic Trust Holding has created the subsidiary Continental Drones, which is partnering with Wingcopter to help set up this new infrastructure.

Watch an example of a Wingcopter blood sample delivery in Germany below:

Said Tom Plümmer, Co-Founder and CEO of Wingcopter, “This agreement and trustful partnership is a real game-changer, positioning Wingcopter and Continental Drones at the top of the drone delivery industry. Wingcopter is well positioned to execute against the tremendous opportunity of drone delivery in the next decade. We are convinced that our cooperation with Alex and his Continental Drones team will unlock the African drone delivery market on a large scale, allowing us to jointly improve and save millions of lives.”

Why it’s important: According to Wingcopter, In many African regions, insufficient infrastructure is one of the biggest barriers to universal health coverage and economic development. Through large-scale drone delivery networks throughout Africa, Wingcopter believes it can ‘propel logistics in these countries to a new level’, by replacing limited ground-based, emission-producing infrastructure with an all-electric, far more capable alternative.

These automated networks could also potentially lay the groundwork for passenger-carrying solutions, which would connect not just supplies, but also people between communities.

Source // Wingcopter

Related:

• German Airways Orders 17 Wingcopter Delivery Drones, Options for 115 (April 2022)
• Wingcopter Captures $16MM Deal with Spright for Medical Drone Deliveries in the US (January 2022)
• All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Wingcopter to Develop Drone Delivery Infrastructure (April 2021)
• Wingcopter Secures Investment from LATAM Based SYNERJET Corporation (December 2021)

Joby Aviation has announced that its full-size pre-production aircraft has successfully demonstrated its revolutionary low noise profile, following acoustic testing completed with NASA.

Following analysis of the data obtained over two weeks of testing as part of NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign, Joby’s aircraft was shown to have met the revolutionary low noise targets the Company set for itself.

The aircraft registered the equivalent of 45.2 A-weighted decibels (dBA) from an altitude of 1640 feet (500 meters) at 100 knots airspeed, a sound level which Joby believes will barely be perceptible against the ambient environment of cities.

NASA engineers also measured the aircraft’s acoustic profile during planned take-off and landing profiles to be below 65 dBA, a noise level comparable to normal conversation, at a distance of 330 feet (100 meters) from the flight path.

“We’re thrilled to show the world just how quiet our aircraft is by working with NASA to take these measurements,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby.

“With an aircraft this quiet, we have the opportunity to completely rethink how we live and travel today, helping to make flight an everyday reality in and around cities. It’s a game-changer.”

All measurements were conducted using NASA’s Mobile Acoustics Facility, with more than 50 pressure ground-plate microphones placed in a grid array at Joby’s Electric Flight Base near Big Sur, CA.

To measure the Joby aircraft’s acoustic footprint during overhead flight, it flew over the grid array six times at an airspeed of 100 knots and a low altitude to measure as much of the aircraft’s noise above the background ambience as possible. Data recorded from the field of omni-directional microphones was then processed by NASA into an “acoustic hemisphere,” representing the sound emission in all directions below the aircraft at a 100 ft radius. Joby then applied standard processing techniques for spherical spreading and atmospheric attenuation, resulting in an average free-field overhead flight acoustic reading of 45.2 dBA at 1640 feet (500 meters).

Joby also conducted more than 20 take-off and landing tests above the grid array, using a variety of acceleration rates and climb angles to allow NASA to capture acoustics representative of likely operational procedures. This data will be used to adjust flight software and take-off and landing procedures for further low-noise optimization.

From day one, the Joby aircraft was designed with acoustics in mind, with the number of propellers and blades, blade shape and radius, tip speeds, and disk loading of the aircraft all selected to minimize its acoustics footprint and improve the character of the sound produced. Each of the six propellers can also individually adjust its tilt, rotational speed, and blade pitch to avoid blade-vortex interactions that contribute to the acoustic footprint of traditional helicopters.

More details regarding procedures and measurements will be released by both Joby and NASA in technical papers to be presented at industry conferences this summer.

Why it matters: A key roadblock to the wide acceptance of eVTOL technologies will be lower acoustic impact on urban environments than traditional substitutes. Until now, noise performance figures have been mostly marketing gimmicks, lacking real tests. With this series of NASA testing, Joby has proved it has a craft capable of blending into the noise characteristics of an urban environment without disrupting life below.

A new player on the eVTOL market, TCab Tech, has announced that its eVTOL prototype is now conducting test flights in which its aircraft makes full transitions from vertical flight to horizontal cruise.

Above: Rendering of TCab Tech’s E20 eVTOL, with room for four passengers

With a similar design to Joby Aviation, EmbraerX’s Eve, Airbus, Archer and other top eVTOL players, the Chinese TCab E20 has made a landing on the market with an all-electric aircraft that can take-off and land vertically like a helicopter, and fly in forward cruise like a traditional airplane.

As of May 15th, ECab announced that its 50% scale prototype has successfully completed test flights in which its aircraft makes full transitions from vertical flight to horizontal cruise modes.

This is announcement is particularly significant as many players in the eVTOL industry have noted that transition from vertical to horizontal flight is the most difficult stage of flight testing.

Watch a video of the most recent flight tests below:

Although one of the world’s most successful eVTOL companies, EHang, is also based in China, TCab Tech is the first company to announce full-transition test flights of an eVTOL aircraft that includes a fixed wing for forward flight. EHang’s 216 AAV (autonomous aerial vehicle) is in highly advanced stages of development as compared to the E20, but its range is limited to about 35 kilometers.

With its wing, TCab expects its aircraft to fly to a range of about 200 kilometers. However, the wing also greatly adds to the aircraft’s overall size, which means that each of these aircraft will address slightly different markets. EHang’s 216 will likely be used within dense urban areas that have heavy ground congestion, while TCab’s E20 will likely be used for travel between cities themselves.

In 2021, EHang announced that it also is creating a longer range eVTOL featuring a fixed wing, which will be able to fly for about 186 kilometers, also aiming at travel between cities. TCab’s E20 will be able to carry four passengers plus a pilot, while EHang’s VT-30 will be fully autonomous and carry 2 passengers.

Above: A rendering of TCab’s E20 as compared with EHANG’s VT30

Why it’s important: With this announcement, TCab aims to position itself as another top eVTOL developer in China. Although its progress is not nearly as advanced as EHang’s 216 AAV, TCab seems to focusing on purely longer range, larger, piloted aircraft for travel between cities, as opposed to the 216’s autonomous infra-city capabilities. EHang is also creating a long-range, autonomous aircraft with room for two passengers, but TCab’s E20 seems to more closely resemble the four-passenger piloted, western designs like Joby Aviation, Archer, and Airbus, that aim at piloted shared air taxi solutions.

Related:

• EHang Unveils Long-Range VT-30 AAV to Expand Regional Air Mobility Offerings (May 2021)
• Airbus Vahana Achieves Full Transition Flight (June 2019)
• Archer Aviation’s ‘Maker’ eVTOL aircraft completes first hover flight (December 2021)
• Joby Completes 150-mile Flight, Begins Part 135 Certification Process (July 2021)

German drone delivery company Wingcopter announced on May 11th that the Federal Aviation Administration has issued the Special Class Airworthiness Criteria for the Wingcopter 198 US unmanned aircraft. This approval marks an important milestone in the certification process of Wingcopter’s flagship eVTOL delivery drone in the U.S.

With the Airworthiness Criteria, the FAA defines technological requirements under title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), § 21.17(b) that must be met to have an aircraft type-certified for regular commercial operations in the U.S.

Besides its efficient design for commercial and humanitarian delivery missions, the Wingcopter 198 was engineered from the ground up to meet stringent safety standards. In the development, Wingcopter was able to leverage the operational experience of more than five years with the company’s first delivery drone type in various geographical settings, from the Arctics to the Middle Eastern desert and from remote islands in the South Pacific to San Diego Bay in the U.S.

Since applying for the Special Class Type Certificate in March 2020, Wingcopter has collaborated closely with the FAA. The issuance allows Wingcopter to focus its development efforts even more on what the FAA deems necessary for this particular aircraft to receive certification quickly and efficiently.

Once type-certified, Wingcopter will be able to fly conventional routes through airspace and over populated areas, ultimately providing the basis for scaling commercial drone delivery operations across the U.S. that will help save and improve lives. The certification is expected to also have a positive impact on Wingcopter’s further certification efforts such as with ANAC in Brazil or JCAB in Japan.

Wingcopter also shared in a press release detailing this development that the company is looking forward to hiring new software and hardware development engineers, as well as flight test engineers, production engineers, sales, and drone-as-a-service personnel to advance the progress and mission of Wingcopter.

Why it’s important: Wingcopter’s FAA release of airworthiness requirements for the Wingcopter 198 unmanned sUAS creates an interesting dichotomy between the FAA’s recent decision to part ways with a manned eVTOL certification process that leverage similarities of eVTOLs to conventional aircraft to smoothen the path toward certification and the relative ease of approval for sUAS systems that are completely unmanned, as unmanned systems presumably pose less of a threat to the general public given their areas of operation aren’t constrained. However, as more and more eVTOL concepts become defined and advance toward autonomous capabilities, OEM’s will likely start to make the case for certification of these systems as autonomous “unmanned” aerial systems.

Airbus has selected MagicaLL, a company that develops electric motors specialized for flight, to provide propulsion motors for Airbus’s CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL.

Above: A mockup of the Airbus CityAirbus NextGen. In this image, several of the electric motor locations can be seen along the wings and tail wing of the aircraft.

While other companies making electric motors for aviation do exist such as MagniX, Airbus has selected California-based company MAGicALL to design and manufacture the motors of its all-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. In particular, Airbus has chosen a tailored version of MAGicALL’s ‘MAGiDRIVE’ motor, which provides 50 Nm/kg of torque at a very light weight, includes an enclosed electronic power control system, and features air-cooling and low vibration capabilities that could allow the CityAirbus NextGen to travel at speeds of 75mph with no more noise emissions than a household vacuum cleaner.

The two companies have already begun work on the customized version of the MAGICaALL motor that will be used with the CityAirbus NextGen. According to Airbus, these customizations will enable the latest prototype to ‘benefit from features that match its unique design’, increasing both performance and reliability.

Also according to Airbus, MAGicALL’s motors will contribute to the seamless architecture of Airbus’ eVTOL prototype as its MAGiDRIVE includes both the motor itself and its control system in a single fully enclosed unit.

Said Joerg P. Mueller, Airbus’ Head of Urban Air Mobility, “We are proud to benefit from the experience of MAGicALL to develop the electric propulsion system of CityAirbus NextGen. The electric motors are a major component of our prototype: the high torque and low weight of the MAGiDRIVE as well as its robust design will be highly beneficial for the overall efficiency of the aircraft.”

Above: A rear view of the CityAirbus NextGen that shows the locations of its eight total electric motors.

MAGicALL has been designing and manufacturing electric motors for vehicles since 2004, and was Airbus’ previous partner in its experimental ‘Airbus Vahana‘ project, which featured a tilt-wing eVTOL that eventually led to the CityAirbus NextGen. MAgicALL has also partnered with Bell on its Air Transport Pod (ATP) project, which features a large unmanned aircraft that can carry up to 70lbs of cargo.

Why it’s important: This announcement comes as the latest chapter in a recent slew of news from Airbus regarding its eVTOL program. Within the last two weeks, Airbus has announced the formation of an Air Mobility Initiative in Germany, and also a major partnership with ITA airways in Italy. These plans, along with the NextGen’s growing technological momentum with MAGicALL, suggest that Airbus is making a major push toward commercial rollout of its aircraft.

Read more about the CityAirbus NextGen here.

Source // Airbus, Auto Evolution

Related:

• Airbus Forms Air Mobility Initiative in Germany (May 2022)
• Airbus Partners with ITA Airways for Aerial Mobility in Italy (April 2022)
• Thales and Diehl Aerospace to Develop Flight Computers for CityAirbus NextGen (November 2021)
• Airbus Unveils Latest eVTOL Prototype (November 2021)

AIR ONE, the developer of a two-seater eVTOL designed for private ownership and personal use, showcased a full-size prototype of its aircraft at the Kentucky Derby, which took place over the weekend of May 7th, 2022.

Above: The AIR ONE eVTOL prototype in a tent hangar at the Kentucky Derby

The AIR ONE aircraft, unlike many eVTOLs currently under development, is designed for personal use and private ownership rather than as a commercial air taxi. AIR ONE states that its mission is to make the ‘ultimate freedom of flying’ more accessible, suggesting that purchasers of its aircraft could use it for commuting, exploring the outdoors or even sport flying. This makes marketing the AIR ONE at an event like the Kentucky Derby an excellent idea, as people who live in the area could land the AIR ONE aircraft on large properties, or use it to commute to events like the Derby.

Above: Mockup of the AIR ONE eVTOL in flight

AIR is one of the few advanced companies in the aerial mobility space that’s targeting private ownership / personal use of its aircraft. Many top developers, like Joby, Beta Technologies, Vertical Aerospace, and more, are all targeting commercial air taxi use cases, with larger aircraft. The AIR ONE, meanwhile, can fit in a standard parking or house garage space when its wings are folded, takes only about 16 hours to learn to fly, and costs only $150,000.

The AIR ONE eVTOL aircraft is fully electric (it can charged in a household just as a ground-based EV can), features a foldable fixed wing for efficient forward flight, can fly for up to 110 miles on a single charge, and can fly with a top speed of 155 mph.

Watch AIR give a full tour of its new prototype below:

Why it’s important: Current customers of the private air travel industry, who frequently charter or own private jets and helicopters, are often found attending the Kentucky Derby. Advertising the AIR ONE at an event like the Derby is an excellent way for AIR to find customers who have already proven interest in private air travel, meaning that they would be the most likely audience to eventually purchase AIR ONE aircraft. And, at a price tag of $150,000, AIR is likely to find a swarth of customers who would have interest in this aircraft.

Source // AIR ONE, News ATLAS

Related:

• AIR CEO Discusses AIR ONE’s Role in Aerial Mobility (January 2022)
• Israel-based AIR Unveils its First eVTOL Prototype (October 2021)

Adacel Technologies Limited (Adacel) an advanced air traffic management solutions and simulation and training system company, announced on May 3rd the completion of acquisition of a new virtual Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower solution. This important milestone marks Adacel’s entry into the fast-growing virtual ATC tower market.

The new system passed Site Acceptance Testing with Estonian Air Navigation Services (EANS) to provide virtual ATS tower operations for Kuressaare in Tallinn. Built on modular, open architecture principles, the tower is suitable for a variety of functional needs, including integration with existing or new air traffic management, communication, navigation, and surveillance systems.

“We welcome our new team and customer to the Adacel family. The new virtual ATC tower solution presents immense opportunities for everyone, and along with our deep industry expertise and ever-evolving technological advancements, we look forward to continuing to advance safety and efficiency in aviation,” shares Daniel Verret, Adacel’s CEO.

These types of virtual ATC towers immediately provide great training opportunities for future air traffic controllers, but also represent a modular, configurable option for simulation of UTM (unmanned traffic management) platforms to interplay with current controlled airspace systems.

Why it’s important: Integration of advanced air traffic training systems will help aid in the progression from mixed/hybridized ATC solutions for handling both manned and unmanned traffic systems (such as the proposal with the United States’ NAS integration with unmanned air traffic) as well as the current modernization of general aviation systems.

Embraer has concluded a series of experimental flights in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil per a company news release, focused on evaluating new autonomous system technologies in real flight conditions. The goal is to enable safe autonomous operation in complex urban environments.

The aerial data collection and real-time evaluation of autonomous flight technologies in urban scenarios used traditional piloted helicopters as part of the Embraer Autonomous Systems project (“Project EASy”), which uses agile testing processes for the development of solutions that will enable autonomous aviation in the near future.

Embraer worked with Eve, an Embraer company dedicated to accelerating the Urban Air Mobility ecosystem, and in direct collaboration with partners Daedalean, Iris Automation and Near Earth Autonomy for seven full days. During this time, the companies explored nominal and edge-case scenarios for take-off, climb, cruise, approach and landing flight phases. The helicopters from Helisul Aviação, an Eve partner for UAM development in Brazil, were controlled by professional pilots at all times while systems captured data and performed real-time calculations.

“This project allowed us to evaluate technologies in real-time and also collect lots of data that will later be used in simulations,” said Julio Bolzani, Head of Autonomous Systems at Embraer. “It is important to note that we are not going straight to fully autonomous operations. As Eve begins operations, pilots will be on board and will also benefit from the application of these technologies through a safer and simplified vehicle operation until we reach a fully certified autonomous flight system for Urban Air Mobility.”

This experimental process is also connected to the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) coordinated by Eve since 2021, in cooperation with strategic partners and government entities to convert this acquired knowledge into working data and analysis framework to guide all operational aspects of the future of urban aerial mobility.

See Embraer’s full vision for urban aerial mobility below:

“All information and data raised in this project, as well as the technical solutions under development, will set the path for fully autonomous flight of eVTOLs in the future,” said Andre Stein, co-CEO of Eve. “We are thrilled with all operational aspects exercised and data acquired in this project and its direct connection to our CONOPS. These are solid steps for safely introducing future autonomous operations and accelerating the affordability and growth of the UAM market.”

Why it matters: Embraer’s Eve eVTOL has already amassed impressive orders from BLADE and other eVTOL operators. Given recent partnerships, Eve is poised to be the leading eVTOL manufacturer in Central and South America, with the potential to compete against American and European counterparts. Eve has yet to build and fly its prototype, but this series of demonstrations of their autonomous technologies should bring them one major step closer.