eVTOL developer Orca Aerospace and the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to research and develop Orca’s new eVTOL aircraft. Both organizations believe this aircraft will offer more affordable and sustainable flight options for emergency medical response and passenger transportation.

Although it also has potential as an air taxi, Orca’s eVTOL aircraft concept is designed specifically for airborne medical services and patient transportation. Orca envisions that its aircraft will complement existing air and ground based EMS in order to provide quicker response times, reduce inefficiencies, and improve economics of operations.

Orca’s aircraft will be entirely electric, featuring 4 vertical lift propellers on its tail, 2 tilt-rotor propellers for VTOL and forward flight on its nose, and 1 rear pusher propeller purely for forward flight. In total, the aircraft can transport up to 3 pax: 1 pilot, 1 patient on a stretcher, and 1 emergency medical service provider. Cruise speeds will be around 296 km/h, while range is estimated at 110-130 km. In accordance with the EASA SC-VTOL, the propulsion system is sized to overcome single engine failures, in both hover and cruise modes.

According to the NLR, the collaboration with Orca will contribute to its goals for more sustainable aviation in the Netherlands. With over 100 years of experience within the European aerospace industry, the NLR will assist Orca with the development of operational concepts on eVTOL vehicles, supporting qualification, certification, and establishing and supporting a mutual R&D network for critical technologies.

Why it’s important: The Orca aircraft is well under development in the Netherlands, and features compliance with the EU’s most recent standards for eVTOL safety. In some aspects, the Orca even exceeds GA aircraft in safety capabilities. While many eVTOL concepts are being developed the world over, Orca’s significant progress, its collaboration with the NLR, and its focus on emergency medical response applications will all give it an edge in its market sectors as eVTOL aircraft begin to move into production.

Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently released the latest version of its urban air mobility (UAM) roadmap, which now includes the addition of commercialization plans. The document outlines the country’s roll-out plan for aerial mobility services over the next few decades.

Korea’s example of the kind of aircraft it expects to soon see in its skies.

The new roadmap document divides the market’s timeline into three phases: 2025 to 2029, 2030 to 2034, and 2035 and later. The goal of the first phase is to reach a flight distance of 100 km for a single trip, with a pilot aboard. The second phase aims to double that distance to 200 km, replace the pilot with remotely controlled operations, and double average flight speed from 150 to 300 km/h. The third phase expects to reach a 300 km trip length, based on Korea’s predictions for increases in battery capacity and fuselage weight reduction in aircraft.

The ministry predicts that by 2035, at least 50 vertiports will be in operation serving around 200 flight routes in Korea, and average passenger fare per kilometer will be around 1700 won ($1.50 USD).

The announcement comes not long after SK Telecom, a major South Korean telecommunications company, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Airports Corp and the Korea Transport Institute to begin building and testing networks for aerial mobility in necessary areas. Additionally, global industry leader EHang recently demonstrated the capabilities of its 216 autonomous passenger eVTOL in the skies above Seoul. 

The EHang 216 autonomous passenger vehicle flies a demonstration flight over Seoul, South Korea.

Why it’s important: Around the world, aerial mobility companies are beginning to move out of the ideation and design phase and into the implementation phase. Discussions have begun to shift from certification to infrastructure, connectivity, effectualness, and customer experience. This latest roadmap from the Korean government represents an effective strategy to move Korea toward aerial mobility commercialization.

UTM systems, short for ‘Unmanned Traffic Management’ systems, are artificially intelligent softwares that will assist in directing and organizing denser air traffic that will be brought on new aerial mobility vehicles.

Currently, urban air traffic management is completed mainly by humans, but this will be become more difficult in the near future when the number of aerial vehicles vastly increases. To avoid collisions and properly direct traffic according to flight plans, softwaters must be invented that will help to manage this air traffic. Companies like EHang, Boeing’s SkyGrid, and AirMap are already working on these softwares, and governments throughout the world are collaborating with them synchronize airspace regulations and policies.

An example of the kinds of aircraft Altitude Angels hopes to one day manage in Europe

Altitude Angels, a UTM software developer that is already working with drones, is now set to assist with Europe’s new Uspace4UAM program. The program is a large-scale demonstration project for aerial mobility that will tackle issues of operational concepts, regulation and standards, and will “build confidence in a safe and orderly integration of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in every day air traffic”.

According to a recent press release from Altitude Angels, the Uspace4UAM project will study safety cases and their impact on system requirements, and look at how regulation and standardization can be set up to build sustainable aerial transportation businesses cases. A series of multi-national demonstrations, both with drones and urban aerial mobility vehicles will be conducted. They will cover different use cases, including mixed operations, to allow the project runners to understand critical enablers for a wide set of UAM service applications that can be applied across Europe. The project is set to deliver results that are of interest to early movers in eVTOL, enabling them to bring a real market impact in the next few years. It also will produce a number of commercial contracts for the provision of fully automated drone services, and present solutions to identified gaps towards fully autonomous urban air taxi services.

A visualization by NASA of the air traffic that UTM systems of the future will manage

Said Cengiz Ari, one of the leaders of the project, “Urban Air Mobility is going to be a critical part of our long-term roadmap to reduce the rising pressure on our transport infrastructure and to build transport capacity in the third dimension – the sky. We are optimistic that this consortium will contribute to a positive development of the Urban Air Mobility industry in Europe.”

Why it’s important: As aerial mobility begins to grow, governments and cities throughout the world will need to be prepared to manage the increased air traffic that will soon come. Programs like Uspace4UAM project in Europe are an excellent strategic move, as they will allow for many countries throughout the continent to begin preparing early, preventing any potential bottlenecks in the rollout of these services.

After being acquired by regional mobility company Surf Air, and completing several tests of its aircraft in Hawaii and California, Hybrid-Electric aircraft developer Ampaire will now begin flight demonstrations in the U.K.

The upcoming flights in the U.K are part of the new Towards Zero Emissions in Regional Aircraft Operations (2ZERO) program in the country, which has received a £2.4 million ($3.3 million) grant as part of the £30 million funding from the British government for its Future Flight Challenge. Initially, Ampaire will demonstrate its six-seat Electric EEL aircraft (a converted Cessna 337 SkyMaster), and later it will add the 19-seat Eco Otter SX, which is based on the Twin Otter.

Ampaire’s electric aircraft in flight over Hawaii

The 2ZERO consortium also includes several UK-based organizations, including Rolls-Royce Electrical, the University of Nottingham, regional airline Loganair, Exeter and Devon Airports, Cornwall Airport, the Southwest Local Enterprise Partnership, and UK Power Network Services. The goal of the collaboration is to evaluate how new hybrid-electric aircraft can be integrated with existing airport and airline operations, with flight testing at Exeter and Newquay airports in the southwest of England. Some of the partners will also be contributing financially to the program.

Ampaire has already tested the Electric EEL aircraft in Hawaii with local regional carrier Mokulele Airlines. In February, Surf Air Mobility acquired the start-up in a deal worth over $100 million.

Why it’s important: With its latest electric EEL aircraft, Ampaire is breaking records and leading the industry for sustained electric regional flight. Although Ampaire is not currently developing VTOL aircraft, its battery technology both proves out and pushes forward battery technology for electric flight, which will enable this technology for aerial mobility of all kinds, including eVTOL.

Metro Hop, a company developing a unique concept for an all-electric short take-off and landing aircraft, has received a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer contract from Agility Prime, the division of the United States Air Force dedicated to developing new aerial mobility and transport technologies.

Metro Hop’s particular concept is unique in that it features a patent-pending ‘Active Landing Gear’ system that can extend and retract automatically to allow for extremely short takeoffs and landings. On takeoff, the landing gear’s wheels are powered by electric motors, which allow the aircraft to taxi and accelerate with speeds similar to an electric car. Combined with acceleration from the propellors, these wheels allow the aircraft to take off within 60 meters. On landing, the aircraft uses li-dar and mechanically driven extendable landing legs to hit the first landing marks perfectly, even if the plane is a little higher or lower than it would need to be without them. This allows the plane to begin braking immediately, and slow down to a stop within 60 meters.

Metro Hop’s ‘Active Landing Gear’ in action, making 60 meter takeoffs and landings.

The ability of this aircraft to take off and land within such a short distance opens up opportunities for entirely new kinds of infrastructure that would allow for efficient fixed wing travel between urban destinations.

With Agility Prime’s Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer contract, Metro Hop is teaming up with Auburn University’s Vehicle Systems, Dynamics, and Design Lab (VSDDL) to model and validate the design of the Active Landing Gear. VSDDL will use its flight simulation facilities and software to model the gear under various conditions during the takeoff and landing phases of flight. After this initial phase of testing is completed, Metro Hop will move forward with construction of a fully operational landing gear set and begin dynamic landing-drop and taxi testing.

Auburn University’s Vehicle Systems, Dynamics, and Design Lab

Dr. Imon Chakraborty, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Auburn University said, “The VSDDL recently developed a reconfigurable flight simulator aimed at novel aircraft configurations and we’re currently developing two more. We look forward to using our capabilities to give us precise measurements of Metro Hop’s flight capabilities and allow us to aggregate essential data on the plane.”

Why it’s important: Support from Agility Prime lends major legitimacy to the Metro Hop project, and backing from the USAF can mean connections, contracts, funding, and more. By awarding Metro Hop this contract, Agility Prime has marked the company as growing leader in the eSTOL field, and has asserted its belief in the potential of this technology.

Personal air transportation has traditionally been limited to private helicopters and private jets, but as electric aerial mobility becomes a reality, the private aviation industry begins the transition toward accommodation and management of electric aircraft.

Because traditional methods of personal air travel such as helicopter and private jet charters are prohibitively expensive, personal travel by air has mainly remained a luxury only for the wealthy. However, eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) will be both more affordable to both operate and maintain, making them far more accessible to the public than former options. As a result, these new flight operations will have much higher daily flight volumes than traditional charter, which will create the need for new types of fleet management systems.

Companies that currently manage these aircraft and their charter operations, such as JetEdge, Wing Aviation, FlexJet, and more recently BLADE Urban Air Mobility have a depth of experience in handling the massive task of optimizing fleet management. However, unlike ground transportation companies like Uber, due to their lower volumes and more fluctuating prices, a large proportion of these companies manually manage each chartered flight. This means that although members of their teams are experts in fleet management and optimization, there is no background software that manages charter request reception, quote issuance, and backend operation execution without substantial human intervention. eVTOL aerial mobility companies such as Lilium, Joby Aviation, and others seek to use software to make the air travel experience more similar to the ride-hailing ground transportation experience of today –  a development that is crucial in wide spread commercial applications of aerial mobility.

An Uber demand heat map versus Flight Aware, a route and aircraft tracking system for both public and privately chartered aircraft

It will be interesting to observe moving forward which of these operator companies choose to branch out their expertise into this sector. Will companies like Joby or Lilium create their own fleet management systems from scratch? Or, will they pull simultaneously from ground ride-hailing companies like Uber as well traditional charter operators to create entirely new systems? So far, the latter seems to be the approach by highly successful Joby Aviation, which recently received an airworthiness certification from the USAF for its eVTOL, and acquired Uber Elevate during a similar time period.

Another question will be how traditional charter infrastructure organizations choose to integrate with aerial mobility infrastructure that is being built in major cities. Traditionally, private jet charter patrons have elected to receive ground transportation from an FBO (a private terminal at airports for private charters) to their final destination. However, as eVTOLs begin to get more popular, these charter patrons may soon rather travel by eVTOL to their final destinations rather than wait in traffic. Already, companies like Ross Aviation (an FBO company that has terminals at many major airports around the US), have partnered with BLADE Urban Air Mobility to begin planning eVTOL vertiport infrastructure at their respective FBOs. This indicates that both BLADE’s and Ross’s eventual intent is allow charter patrons to board eVTOLs directly from private jet charters. As the eVTOL industry grows, vertiports throughout major cities will become more prevalent, allowing these charter patrons to fly directly to their hotels, conferences, or business meeting locations without ever needing to step into a car.

A Ross Aviation terminal featured with a potential Vertiport design by Volocopter.

The decisions and responses to the challenges of fleet management will in turn end up transforming eVTOL travel into a common method of transportation used by people from all parts of society. As the world begins to move to a more eVTOL oriented future, companies both past, present, and future will begin to shape the infrastructure world that will enable eVTOL.

Why it’s important: Companies the world over are beginning to make decisions that will enable certain pathways toward the growing world of eVTOL. Experts from aircraft management, companies in ground transportation ride-hailing, and new eVTOL creators will likely combine their efforts to create the eVTOL oriented world of the the future. As the newer companies continue to grow, watching which decisions are made and which partnerships are formed will provide a clearer and clearer picture of the concrete logistics that will make eVTOL work.

EHang Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: EH) provided an update last week on the development of its new AAV production facility in Yunfu city, China. The retrofitting process of the existing building is being completed and production of EHang AAVs is expected to start in the second quarter of 2021.

The new Yunfu manufacturing facility, as seen from above

The Yunfu facility has a total planned gross floor area of 24,000 square meters. It will be the home to EHang’s newest aerial vehicle assembly lines, a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) processing center, a painting workshop and a carbon fiber composite materials processing area. In addition, the Yunfu facility will include a research and training center and an outdoor flight test vertiport.

Upon completion, the Yunfu facility will play a major role in producing EHang’s flagship products, the EH216 series of passenger-grade AAVs, with a planned initial annual capacity of 600 units which can be further increased to support the growing global market needs. EHang expects that it will be the first AAV commercial production facility of this scale.

EHang plans to host an Investor Day event for a facility tour at the new Yunfu Facility in late June 2021. Further details will be announced at a later day.

The existing production facility at the headquarter of EHang in Guangzhou spans a total area of 8,750 square meters and houses production processes for its AAV products. After the Yunfu facility is up and running, the major role of the facility in Guangzhou will be gradually migrated to focus on supporting the Company’s expanding new products R&D efforts.

Watch the video tour of the EHang Yunfu facility below:

Why it’s important: Right now, EHang is one of the furthest companies along in the process of creating, distributing, and beginning operating its autonomous air taxis. The Yunfu manufacturing facility will be EHang’s second, and the company is already conducting paid aerial tourism operations with its aircraft in many cities throughout China. Many companies world wide can begin to look at EHang for an example of how initiating large-scale air taxi operations in their own countries may work.

Related:

• EHang Launches Aerial Tourism Program with Greenland Hong Kong
• EHang 216 Makes its Korean Debut
• Linz, Austria to be added to List of EHang’s Pilot Cities

Skyworks Global, a company that has been investing in creating VTOL flight technologies for several years, has released their concept for a small-scale gyrodyne; an efficient and compact aircraft that can act as an air taxi.

The Skyworks single-seater aircraft concept

Unlike mainstream eVTOL or even helicopters, the Skyworks concept is unique in that its main top rotor is unpowered. Gryodynes work through a combination of this unpowered lift rotor and a powered forward thrust rotor positioned at the rear – when forward thrust is applied, the free-sitting top rotor begins to spin, which develops enough lift to carry the aircraft into forward flight. While this means a gyrodyne is not a true VTOL (it needs just a very small amount of runway to take off), they can be far more efficient than VTOL and recover more smoothly in the event of an emergency, as auto-rotation is possible.

Diagram of how a gyrodyne generates lift. Forward thrust causes free-sitting gryo to spin, providing enough lift to carry the vehicle into forward flight.  

Skyworks has been developing larger VTOL concepts for many years now, whereas this aircraft represents its first smaller-scale gyrodyne. Global Skyworks is also the creator of the Skyworks Verti-Jet: a gyro-plane that uses jet-powered thrust along with its gryo-rotor. Skyworks intends to position both the small-scale gyrodyne and vertijet for use in passenger transportation, as well as border security and military operations.

The company also developed the Hawk 4 four-seater, which flew some 67 missions doing perimeter patrols around Salt Lake City International Airport during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and the Sparrowhawk kit gyro, which was spun off as a separate business in American Autogyro.

Why it’s important: Skyworks’ gryordyne concept represents a broadening of the full range of air taxi vehicle possibilities. While the industry was sparked by the concept of multi-rotor IDEP (independent distributed electric propulsion) as seen in drones, concepts like Skyworks’ could certainly work well in urban settings too, and even have some advantages over other eVTOL concepts. Like Skyworks, Jaunt Air Mobility also uses slowed-rotor lift concepts, and has partnered with Uber Elevate as well as potential air taxi operators abroad.

Earlier this week, real estate developer Hillwood and Bell Textron Inc demonstrated a point-to-point unmanned aircraft system (UAS) package delivery in North Texas.

The Bell Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) took off from the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone, and delivered a package to Pecan Square in Hillwood Communities’ tech-forward, master-planned community in Northlake, Texas.

Bell has recently made a massive name for itself in the aerial mobility industry by creating UAS systems like the ATP, unveiling multiple versions of its Nexus passenger aircraft at Vegas’s Consumer Electronics Show, and even beginning to design smart cities that support aerial mobility. Through these actions and more, Bell has begun to make itself a leading American name in aerial mobility advancement.

Hillwood, meanwhile, has also participated with companies like Uber Elevate in the past to design infrastructure for urban aerial mobility transportation. Said Ross Perot jr, chairman of Hillwood, “Together, we are carving a path forward for future commercial operations to solve the supply chain challenges our world currently faces.”

The APT initiated a vertical takeoff from the Mobility Innovation Zone, and then rotated to fly on its wing, becoming nearly silent to the ground below. The aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 300 feet above ground level, and flew a total of four total miles. Its route included flying near I-35W and unpopulated fields, transitioning in and out complex airspace in order to demonstrate the multiple types of airspace the APT could encounter during a commercial flight.

Said Mitch Synder, President and CEO and Bell, “This demonstration showcases the future application of the APT 70 as a logistics carrier. Testing at the MIZ showcases how Bell’s autonomous vehicles could seamlessly integrate into logistics operations, and unlock new opportunities for businesses.”

Multiple versions of Bell’s ATP system on the ground.

Why it’s important: Autonomous cargo transportation will almost certainly be the main way to lay the groundwork for the passenger-carrying aerial vehicles of the future. By setting out to begin these logistics services now, as well as simultaneously designing passenger vehicles like the Bell Nexus, Bell is creating a path for itself to bring aerial mobility networks to cities across the United States. Vehicles like Bell’s ATP will help Bell in building community acceptance, creating air mobility infrastructure, and testing flight technologies early on.

Jaunt Air Mobility, a growing aerial mobility aircraft designer in based in Dallas, TX, and Varon Vehicles, a pioneer in aerial mobility infrastructure abroad, have partnered to begin to build aerial mobility networks in Latin America.

Although Varon Vehicles has in fact released images of a prototype ‘flying car’ design, the company has always been clear that it’s true goal is not to be a manufacturer of these vehicles, but to partner with expert aircraft OEM’s to create a ‘full transportation system’ for countries like Columbia and others in Latin America. As a partner, Varon’s vision is to provide integration of aerial transport into cities through working with regulatory institutions, designing vertiports, providing customer-end service, and even airspace setting up airspace integration and navigation. Essentially, Varon hopes to be the operator for eVTOL air vehicles for Latin American regions, as Uber might soon be in the United States.

Jaunt’s ‘Journey‘ eVTOL featured in the skies of Cartagena, Columbia

Jaunt Air Mobility, meanwhile, is a celebrated designer of an eVTOL that includes a fixed wing, and uses slowed-rotor compound technology for vertical lift to increase efficiency and limit sound. Through these technologies, Jaunt’s ‘Journey’ eVTOL will be able to cover 70 miles in 25 minutes or less, and take-off and land from anywhere. Jaunt had previously partnered with Uber Elevate, and although Elevate has now been acquired by Joby Aviation, the partnership showed Jaunt’s readiness to enter markets in the U.S and abroad within the next few years. Jaunt believes its ‘Journey’ aircraft will be in operation moving people and aircraft by 2026, with demonstrations beginning in 2023.

Varon Vehicles is currently developing a series of Vertiports in Latin America connected to each other via well-defined low altitude virtual lanes through which aircraft like Jaunt Air Mobility’s eVTOL will fly. Vertiports will be placed both inside and outside existing urban areas to alleviate the pressure for city growth, providing transportation services to multiple customers like logistics companies, tourism companies, hospitals, law enforcement and transportation network companies  for air taxi services, all without the need for per-mile physical construction.

Said Felipe Varon, CEO and Founder of Varon Vehicles, “The Varon Vehicles Infrastructure Network is a new form of mobility infrastructure. Technology now makes it possible to tap into unused low altitude airspace over cities and suburbs in an environmentally friendly manner to provide potentially disruptive transportation services and invaluable connectivity. We have chosen to start implementation in Colombia, where we’re working hand in hand with the Colombian civil aviation authority and a host of regional industry partners, as we bring together technologies, like Jaunt’s, for implementation.”

Over the course of 2021, Jaunt Air Mobility will work with Varon Vehicles to understand the unique transportation needs in Latin American cities and will help define the operations and integration of its Journey aircraft into service. This will kickstart the building blocks necessary for early demonstration of the Jaunt Journey aircraft and Varon Vehicles’ operational vision.

Why it’s important: Although Jaunt Air Mobility had previously partnered with Uber Elevate, it has successfully made a quick pivot to work with Varon Vehicles in Columbia and other Latin American countries. Being this fast to begin integrating its vehicles abroad will give Jaunt a great head start into entering its vehicles into operation. In turn, Varon has received a very well-established partner in Jaunt, which brings to Varon a near-certification ready aircraft that has already received major interest from eVTOL operators in the United States like Uber.

Pipistrel, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of multiple commercially-available electric aircraft, has now launched a maintenance school exclusively for electric aircraft.

Pipistrel conducts its first electric aircraft maintenance training session.

Pipistrel has been creating electric aircraft for several years already. In fact, they are a market leader for electric aircraft, having already broken world records for distance and performance. In addition to producing all-electric trainer and recreational aircraft, the company has certified its aviation electric motor, worked on developing electric aviation charging infrastructure, partnered with Uber Elevate for its air taxi project, and even begun taking orders for its Nuuva V300 cargo eVTOL.

Now, Pipistrel has further extended its reach into the electric aviation industry by founding the world’s first school for electric aircraft maintenance. The course is five days long, and designed for traditional aircraft mechanics who wish to expand their expertise. Pipistrel’s goal with this program is to train technicians who can then bring their knowledge to other parts of the world where electric aircraft like the Pipistrel Velis Electro and electric VTOL aircraft may soon become more common.

Students in Pipistrel’s new program learn to work on an electric motor.

Pipistrel said in a press release, “Organizing a seminar of this kind is a great achievement and honor for Pipistrel. The road to this point was very long and required cooperation of many individuals and institutions.” The company has already conducted two courses with a third slated for February.

Why it’s important: As electric aircraft become more prevalent, and the age of urban eVTOL aircraft begins to emerge, experts in maintaining and repairing electric air vehicles and their components will become increasingly valuable and sought after. By launching this school now, Pipistrel will put itself ahead of the game for providing electric aircraft maintenance expertise and training.

Source // AVWeb

EHang Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: EH) , a leading autonomous aerial vehicle (“AAV”) technology platform company, has announced strategic partnerships with Zhuhai Da Heng Qin Pan-Tourism Development Co., Ltd., Zhuhai Huafa Sports Operations Management Co., Ltd. and Flying World (Zhuhai) Technology Co., Ltd. to jointly initiate Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) operations for aerial sightseeing and other air mobility services in the Hengqin New Area, the largest island and a Free Trade Zone in southeast Zhuhai in Guangdong Province of China. By establishing AAV experience centers and a suite of supporting service systems, EHang seeks to integrate its AAVs into the daily life of the local population.

The EHang 216 passenger AAV (Autonomous Aerial Vehicle)

During a signing ceremony held on January 8, a fleet of EHang 216 AAVs made passenger-carrying flights in Tianqin Park in Hengqin. The flights were observed by local government officials, enterprise representatives, media outlets, and local residents. A total of 36 passengers flew in the autonomous EHang 216, enjoying safe and comfortable aerial sightseeing trips. Through this event, EHang fully demonstrated its cutting-edge technology for the centralized management of multiple simultaneous flights of AAVs in distributed operations under command-and-control systems.

Li Weihui, Deputy Secretary of the Hengqin New Area, said, “We warmly welcome the arrival of EHang passenger-grade AAVs to Hengqin. We believe this new style of intelligent air mobility will have more and better uses and will flourish in our beautiful Hengqin.”

Resting on the west bank of the Pearl River estuary, the Hengqin New Area is regarded as the core of Pearl River Delta and boasts a unique geographical location adjacent to Hong Kong and Macau. With an advantageous geographical location, pleasant natural scenery, and rich tourism resources, it boasts favorable conditions and market demand for the development of short- and medium-haul urban air transportation. According to the Outline of the Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Overall Development Plan of Hengqin issued by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, Hengqin will become a demonstration area for in-depth cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and an international leisure and tourism destination suitable for living, working and travel, accelerating the integrated development of tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Lu Ting, CEO of Flying World (Zhuhai) Technology Co., Ltd., commented, “We are excited to cooperate with EHang and other strategic partners. By leveraging EHang’s world’s leading AAV technology and strong support from local government, we see promising market development potential and are confident that we can integrate air mobility services into the leisure and tourism industry in Hengqin. We believe this effort can gradually expand across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to form synergistic operations and development.”

Watch the video of EHang 216 AAVs conducting passenger-carrying flights in Hengqin below:

Why it’s important: With this announcement, EHang furthers its trend as a trailblazer for aerial mobility initiatives in China and internationally. While EHang’s eventual goal is for these aircraft to be used for commuting, tourism represents a very high-potential immediate use case for these aircraft, since they are more economical, less impactful on the environment, and much quieter than helicopters, which currently service the tourism segment. Additionally, Hengqin is being added to a list of many cities in which EHang has already launched operations, helping them lay the groundwork for their vision of urban air transport throughout China and internationally.

Related: 

• EHang Launches Aerial Tourism Program with Greenland Hong Kong
• Linz, Austria to be added to List of EHang’s Pilot Cities
• EHang 216 Makes its Korean Debut

Source // EHang

BLADE Urban Air Mobility and fixed base operator Ross Aviation have entered into a strategic partnership to further the roll-out of urban air mobility services in certain areas. These regions will include areas where Ross Aviation and Blade operations overlap.

Passengers disembark a BLADE helicopter arriving in Manhattan

BLADE is a market leader in modern urban air mobility, having already created a large network of on-demand, by-the seat helicopter transportation options within many of the world’s major cities. By partnering with Ross Aviation, a nationwide operator of fixed base operation terminals at seventeen different airports, BLADE will launch a pilot program offering daily helicopter flights between Ross Aviation’s West Terminal at the Westchester County Airport and Blade heliport terminals in Manhattan to serve commuters from the Westchester/Connecticut area.

In addition, the two companies will create blueprints for an eVTOL vertiport located at the Westchester airport, as BLADE eventually plans to phase out its helicopter fleet in favor of eVTOL aircraft. The plans will include the infrastructure required to hangar, charge, stage and deploy eVTOLs.

Vision of an urban eVTOL Vertiport, created by Volocopter

According to Rob Wiesenthal, CEO of BLADE: “Even with the expected increase of remote working post-pandemic, we believe that intermittent commuting of one to two times per week between the suburbs and New York City will be a reality. Congestion on tri-state area roads is now estimated at 90% of pre-pandemic levels. Given the combination of being near Uber Black pricing at $175, and the time savings of an approximately 12-minute flight, this service makes sense today and over the long term.”

A passenger on a BLADE Urban Air Mobility flight

A recent press release detailed the companies’ plan to launch a pilot program offering daily helicopter flights between Ross Aviation’s West Terminal at the Westchester County Airport (the “Airport”) and Blade heliport terminals in Manhattan. “In 2019 alone, these commuters took more than 40 million trips commuting to and from New York City, the majority driving alone in a car for 1-2 hours in each direction.
Blade expects the five-day-per-week service to begin as early as March 2021, transforming that 1-2 hour drive into a 10-15 minute flight.” Blade also has plans to offer commuter passes in an effort to reduce the per seat cost to $95.

Why it’s important: The collaboration of these two companies represents the beginning of the transition from traditional urban travel to the advent of eVTOL. Through this partnership, BLADE will utilize Ross Aviation’s operator expertise to first introduce its helicopter fleet to commuting, and then eventually, its eVTOL fleet.

Related: 

• BLADE Urban Air Mobility To be Listed on NASDAQ
• BLADE Announces Charters at Operating Cost for those affected by COVID-19

Together, the Japan Aerospace Exploratory Agency (JAXA) and major Japanese transportation company Yamato Holdings have created a standardized cargo pod to be used on eVTOL platforms within Japan. The two organizations have worked together in designing and evaluating the aerodynamic shape of the pod concept, which they have named the PUPA8801.

The Yamato Holdings Cargo Pod, shown here with modules being loaded onto a truck from an eVTOL.

The PUPA8801 is capable of carrying up to 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of cargo, which would make any multi-copter to carry it extremely competitive in the growing aerial logistics market. JAXA and Yamato created the pod to be as useful for intermodal travel as possible, which meant the unit had to be both aerodynamic for flight, and as rectangular as possible for efficiency of storage on a truck or other ground-based transportation. In addition, the unit had to be easily detachable and attachable to a wide variety of transportation options. For this, JAXA and Yamato took inspiration from years of experience in the existing intermodal transportation industry.

The PUPA8801 Cargo Pod had to be both aerodynamic for flight, and as rectangular as possible for storage on ground-based transportation.

This partnership is by no means JAXA or Japan’s first effort to promote aerial mobility. As early as 2018, Japan has been forming key partnerships, creating government summits, and writing important reports to help lay the groundwork for aerial mobility in the country’s future. Several major international companies have also either invested in aerial mobility in Japan or collaborated with the Japanese government, such as Uber, Subaru, Boeing, Bell, Volocopter, and more.

Why it’s important: Aerial mobility in Japan will eventually transition from small UAS package delivery to larger cargo delivery, and then from there to multi-copter passenger operations. By creating this cargo pod concept and many other aerial mobility initiatives, Japan indicates both its understanding of the industry, and its commitment to developing its future. Additionally, with this announcement, Yamato Holdings has begun to make a name for itself within aerial logistics, placing itself as a market provider for an important component of large UAS cargo delivery.

Related: 

• Flying Cars to come to Japan Within a Decade
• Japan’s Flying Car Team now includes Subaru, Boeing, and More
• XTI Aircraft Receives Japanese Patent for TriFan 600 eVTOL

Source // JAXA