Category: Events

This Year’s Top Urban Air Mobility Highlights

13 January 2019 || 2 min read

2018 (and even early 2019) has been a big year for urban air mobility, with companies the world over preparing for impending launches of their passenger drones and air taxis. Here’s the past year’s biggest highlights: You can read more about the above-featured stories here: ...

UAM Aircraft Prototypes On Display at CES

05 January 2019 || 4 min read

From January 8-11, Las Vegas, Nevada will host the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show, known as the “global stage for innovation”. According to the Consumer Technology Association – the owner and producer of the trade show – “CES is the world’s gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground...

UAM Aircraft Prototypes On Display at CES

05 January 2019 || 4 min read

Doug Newcomb, Senior Industry Analyst of Mobility at Wards Intelligence, will moderate a conference addressing several companies that are building flying cars for both commercial and leisure purposes. Massimo Martinotti, Head of Mobility Solutions at Italdesign, and Jeff Warra Sr., Automotive Technology Specialist at Spirent Communications, will discuss where is this industry headed, which players are taking us there and what’s the vision for this near-future mode of transportation.

Here are a few of the prototypes that will be showcased at CES this year:

Visit The Hangar to read more about the Cartivator Skydrive’s technical specifications.

The Cartivator SkyDrive is being developed in Toyota, Japan, with a business base in Tokyo. The group is volunteer-oriented, utilizing donated equipment to pull together their flying car concept design, and have set their sights on using one to light the flame at the opening of the Olympic games in Tokyo in 2020. A scaled-down replica of Skydrive, “Toyota’s flying car”, is to be shown at CES.

The Cartivator group highlights that “our team consists of people with diverse professional backgrounds and is working hard every weekend towards developing the flying car.”

“We aim to build a prototype, establish theory of flight control, as well as form alliances with major corporations to make mass production of the flying car a reality.”

Next Future Transportation has not yet displayed their eVTOL prototype – CES 2019 will be the first public look.

Next Future Transportation (NFT) co-founders are husband and wife, Guy and Maki Kaplinsky. The team is currently developing a multi-modal electric zero emission and advance hybrid system eVTOL capable of piloted or autonomous flight. The passenger flying car, with two or four seats, can carry passengers directly from their starting point to their destination (door-to-door). Their vision will be on display at the show, with a media session on Sunday.

“We believe we have a winning design that will enable us to make the Model T of flying cars — a low-cost production model,” Guy Kaplinsky told AFP News in a Silicon Valley office park where a prototype model was being assembled.

Kaplinsky then explained, “we learned from Tesla that Elon Musk spent too much time on the production side. [Instead] we are spending our time on the technology side and will partner with companies on assembly.”

For more information about the company or prototype, see our previous article: Next Future Transportation Inc. Sets Sights on Affordable Door-To-Door eVTOL

Why its important: CES 2019 will provide these emerging UAM companies immense visibility and further ignite discussion regarding the urban aviation industry. CES is the trade show of the year for a look into the world’s most cutting edge and innovative technologies to come.

Discussing the Future of Flight: The Lindbergh Innovation Forum

27 December 2018 || 3 min read

The Lindbergh Foundation, created in 1977 by Charles Lindbergh, General James Doolittle, Sir Edmund Hillary, and other friends of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, is continuing to provoke discussions on the future of flight and the innovations of the next 20 years of aerospace. The Foundation hosted a 2018 Lindbergh Innovation Form at EAA AirVenture which brought leaders from across...

Discussing the Future of Flight: The Lindbergh Innovation Forum

27 December 2018 || 3 min read

The Foundation hosted a 2018 Lindbergh Innovation Form at EAA AirVenture which brought leaders from across specialities in aerospace to discuss the most important trends of the industry, and where the biggest changes were to come to fruition.

Building on the success of the 2018 iteration, the Lindbergh Foundation is hosting another Lindbergh Innovation forum on January 9th, 2019 at the AIAA SciTech Form in San Diego, CA.

The Lindbergh Innovation Forum will host attendees from Boeing, NASA, Aerion Supersonic, AirMap, GoFly and Ampaire. Erik Lindbergh, President of VerdeGo Aero and grandson of Charles Lindbergh, will host the event. Some topics of the event will include unmanned air traffic management, the path to high performance electric aircraft, personal flying devices, and more.

The following speakers have been confirmed at the event:

Mike Hinderberger; SVP, Aircraft Development; Aerion Corporation
Dr. John Langford; Chairman and CEO, Aurora Flight Sciences and President, AIAA
Gwen Lighter; CEO and Founder, GoFly
Ben Marcus; Co-Founder and Chairman; AirMap
Kevin Noertker; Co-Founder and CEO; Ampaire, Inc.
John Petersen; Chairman, The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation
Dr. Edgar Waggoner; Director, Integrated Aviation Systems Program; Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate; NASA

Why it’s important: The Lindbergh Innovation Forum will continue to incite important discussions regarding the future of flight and the emergence of new segments of the aerospace industry. Hosting these talks early, and often, will help the industry learn in a communal frame as opposed to a competitive one, which will ultimately provide for more significant, and prompt, progression of technology, regulations, and general public awareness and acceptance,

2019 Detroit Auto Show to Host Workhorse Group’s Surefly Octocopter Exhibition

22 December 2018 || 3 min read

The 2019 Detroit Auto Show, also known as the North American International Auto Show, provides a global stage for companies on the cutting edge of industry-shaping technology to debut brand-defining vehicles. It is one of the largest auto shows in the United States. The Workhorse Group tweeted on Tuesday December 18 to “get ready, Michigan because we’re bringing the #SureFly...

2019 Detroit Auto Show to Host Workhorse Group’s Surefly Octocopter Exhibition

22 December 2018 || 3 min read

The Workhorse Group tweeted on Tuesday December 18 to “get ready, Michigan because we’re bringing the #SureFly to ⁦@NAIASDetroit⁩ January 14th-17th!” On those dates, the Automobili-D show will gather over 200 companies showcasing innovations on topics such as urban mobility, smart cities, building a mobility workforce, and autonomous technologies. From the NAIAS website, “Detroit is where future mobility innovations meet the pavement” – or in Surefly’s case, the skies.

Surefly’s 4 arms and 8 contra rotating props allow maximum airflow and lift, achieving a top speed of 80 miles per hour.

Workhorse articulates the Ohio-based technology company to be “focused on changing the way the world works by providing sustainable and cost-effective transportation solutions. As an original equipment manufacturer, Workhorse designs and builds high performance battery-electric vehicles, including trucks, aircraft and drones.”

Given the Group’s strong rising presence in the automotive industry with the N-GEN and E-100 Vans, and W-15 Pickup, it is no surprise to see the team exhibiting their technology at the Detroit Auto Show in January of 2019. The Workhorse Group’s two-seat hybrid eVTOL octocopter is designed to be capable of passenger and cargo transit, as well as other applications such as first/emergency responders, military, agriculture, and more.

Safety is a top priority for Workhorse. Surefly is designed with a fully redundant system, a battery backup system that allows for 10 minutes of extended flight time, and a ballistic parachute located in the center of the arms for emergency landings.

To learn more about the specifications and features of the Workhorse Surefly, have a look at our Surefly Vehicle Page.

Why it’s important: This is an opportunity for Workhorse to showcase the Surefly’s technology and capability on a global stage. There is great potential to raise public awareness of the Urban Aviation industry and even increase consumer reservations for the Surefly.

NASA completes first steps in Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge

30 November 2018 || 3 min read

NASA’s Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge is part of a growing movement within the aviation community to develop a future urban air transport system. Here’s one artist’s rendition of how a future urban airspace might look. NASA is assessing responses to an initial Request for Information (RFI) as the first step in kicking off its Grand Challenge. Responses were due...

NASA completes first steps in Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge

30 November 2018 || 3 min read

Urban Air Transport concept from NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) website

NASA is assessing responses to an initial Request for Information (RFI) as the first step in kicking off its Grand Challenge. Responses were due November 16, 2018 and served to get a better idea of what organizations are interested in participating. Participants might include air vehicle developers, air traffic management system developers, the FAA, and others. Certain consulting firms, like Booz Allen Hamilton, have already started working through select scenarios.

Booz Allen Hamilton consulting Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenges

Booz Allen Hamilton is a Fortune 500 consulting firm headquartered in Virginia

The RFI document, released by NASA one month earlier, stated “each participant will each be challenged to complete a series of common safety and integration scenarios”. The actual scenarios will be released after NASA finishes assessing potential participants.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilot’s Association (AOPA) has expressed interest in getting involved with the Grand Challenges. A briefing published by the AOPA declared Senior Director of Airspace, Air Traffic, and Aviation Security Rune Duke wrote to NASA, reminding them that for the Grand Challenges program, “collaboration with other airspace stakeholders will be key to success.” AOPA has repeatedly shown interest in tackling metropolitan air transport challenges. They recently published this video from the National Business Aviation conference in Orlando, Oct 2018.

Why it’s Important:

The Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Grand Challenge is a multi-phase program that will, over the course of several years, identify and address the key challenges associated with accessible air transport systems in metropolitan areas. The first phase, named GC-1, will kick off the program by promoting UAM and building the public’s confidence in its safety. NASA plans to sponsor community learning and a possible flight demonstration as part of this mission.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Opens Center for Mobility with Vertical Lift

12 November 2018 || 3 min read

The goal of Rensselaer’s latest research center is to pursue cutting-edge research in vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft technologies. Earlier this month, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) held a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Uber Elevate Director of Engineering Mark Moore, as well as representatives from Terrafugia, Boeing, Aurora Flight Sciences, and Bell. While the opening of RPI MOVE...

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Opens Center for Mobility with Vertical Lift

12 November 2018 || 3 min read

The goal of Rensselaer’s latest research center is to pursue cutting-edge research in vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft technologies.

Earlier this month, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) held a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Uber Elevate Director of Engineering Mark Moore, as well as representatives from Terrafugia, Boeing, Aurora Flight Sciences, and Bell.

RPI Invites Uber Elevate Director of Engineering Mark Moore to RPI MOVE opening

Uber Elevates, “eCRM” models

While the opening of RPI MOVE is partly driven by interest in vertical lift technologies from the Department of Defense, the director of the new center Farhan Gandhi higlights the “tremendous buzz” around eVTOLs. Ghandi believes that the use of distributed electric propulsion, as well as autonomous operation could “completely change the mobility paradigm.”

RPI MOVE Director Professor Farhan Gandhi

“Enabled by the use of distributed electric propulsion, with piloted as well as autonomous operation, eVTOL aircraft have the potential to completely change the mobility paradigm.”–RPI MOVE Director Professor Farhan Gandhi

MOVE has already acquired 21 Ph.D. students and is working on projects having to do with VTOL aeromechanics, multi-copters, advanced VTOL configurations, control and autonomy, flying qualities, diagnostics and structural health monitoring, computational fluid dynamics, experimental aerodynamics, nano-materials, and design optimization.

In short, RPI MOVE is designed to be an innovation hub producing students with unique technological knowledge for VTOLS and a wide range of innovative VTOL projects.

RPI MOVE’s first class posing with a Black Hawk helicopter

RPI has already started releasing educational material, including the “Dawn of eVTOL” speech by Mark Moore, the “The Electric VTOL Revolution” kickoff presentation from the Vertical Flight Society , and the “Electric VTOL: Current Status & Technical Challenges” panel featuring representatives from Boeing, Aurora Flight Sciences, Terrafugia, and Bell.

Why it’s important: The creation of the RPI MOVE center speaks to the future growth of the eVTOL industry. As more and more eVTOL developers begin to emerge, there will be more and more demand for graduates with expertise in Vertical Lift. Rensselaer has recognized this by forming MOVE.

NASA to Host Urban Air Mobility Challenge Industry Day

20 October 2018 || 4 min read

NASA has made its stance in the new flying car industry clear by recognizing Urban Air Mobility (UAM) as the next step in aviation innovation. In 2020, NASA will commence the first of it’s series of urban air mobility ‘Grand Challenges‘. These challenges will focus on allowing companies with new flight technologies to successfully demonstrate full system safety. Part of...

NASA to Host Urban Air Mobility Challenge Industry Day

20 October 2018 || 4 min read

NASA has made its stance in the new flying car industry clear by recognizing Urban Air Mobility (UAM) as the next step in aviation innovation.

In 2020, NASA will commence the first of it’s series of urban air mobility ‘Grand Challenges‘. These challenges will focus on allowing companies with new flight technologies to successfully demonstrate full system safety. Part of the goal of this effort is to begin the process of public confidence and acceptance.

On November 1-2, NASA will host an ‘Industry Day‘ for urban air mobility. Here, it plans to gather all the players in the coming eco-system to outline and prepare for the 2020 Grand Challenge. According to NASA, attendees will be companies that are “highly motivated to participate and work with us to achieve a safe, commercial operating capability.”

“The convergence of technologies, and new business models enabled by the digital revolution, is making it possible to explore this new way for people and cargo to move within our cities,” – Jaiwon Shin, NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Research.

An artist’s conception of an urban air mobility environment, where air vehicles with a variety of missions and with or without pilots, are able to interact safely and efficiently.

Another goal for the Grand Challenge is helping vehicles to achieve airworthiness certification. In collaboration with the FAA, vehicles will be put through performance tests both for normal flight and for emergency situations such as the loss of the motor. The first Grand Challenge will evaluate ground handling, taxi and takeoff, cruising capabilities and flight path changes, landing and turnaround in a variety of conditions, energy storage and battery capacity, and Management of critical systems failures.

“Now, our goals are to help develop and enable as much as possible what we like to think of as an entire ecosystem when it comes to Urban Air Mobility,” – Davis Hackenberg, UAM Engineer at NASA.

NASA Engineer testing a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)

Why it’s important:

As an airspace traffic manager, NASA will play a crucial role in the new industry UAM industry. While the FAA determines certifications for aircraft, NASA will be greatly responsible for the new airspace management technologies. It has already spent the last six years working on its Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System, which focuses on building a digital management ‘UAS’ system for unmanned commercial drones. The Grand Challenge event event takes the next big step for both aircraft certification and for UAS systems development.

Zunum Aero Partners with Safran and More From The Latest Aviation Innovation Conference

07 October 2018 || 7 min read

Zunum Aero, an electric commercial airplane developer, has announced its partnership with Safran Helicopter Engines. One might wonder why an electric airplane company would partner with a helicopter engine designer and manufacturer. This is because the Zunum Aero ‘ZA10’ is actually a hybrid electric aircraft. While its motors are indeed electric, existing lithium-ion batteries simply cannot store enough energy to...

Zunum Aero Partners with Safran and More From The Latest Aviation Innovation Conference

07 October 2018 || 7 min read

Zunum Aero, an electric commercial airplane developer, has announced its partnership with Safran Helicopter Engines.

Zunum Aero hyrbid propulsion system

One might wonder why an electric airplane company would partner with a helicopter engine designer and manufacturer. This is because the Zunum Aero ‘ZA10’ is actually a hybrid electric aircraft. While its motors are indeed electric, existing lithium-ion batteries simply cannot store enough energy to make the 12 passenger 700+ mile journey, so the ZA10’s electricity will partially come from an on-board jet-fuel powered electric generator. Zunum intends to make the transition to fully electric aircraft once battery technology to do so becomes feasible. For now, the use of the hybrid power train, supplied with Safran’s 1700 shaft horsepower engine, means an 80% cut in emissions, a 75% drop in cabin noise, and a 60-80% drop in energy cost as compared to traditional commercial aircraft. JetSuite has already committed to purchasing 100 ZA10’s, and the company will begin flight testing and the FAA certification in 2020.

Safran's Ardiden 3Z to be used in the Zunum Aero ZA10

Safran’s Ardiden 3Z engine to be used in the Zunum Aero ZA10

The announcement of this partnership on October 4th comes only a few days after the global aviation aviation innovation conference ‘Revolution.aero‘ in San Francisco, which both Zunum and Safran attended. While the topic of this conference was innovation in all sectors of aviation, a great deal of the conference focused mainly on Urban Air Mobility via eVTOLs. While the Zunum ZA10 is not an eVTOL, the hybrid electric technology it is developing is highly applicable to the industry. This is especially true considering that eVTOLs of higher passenger capacity are more economically efficient, and may require hybrid systems. The conference speakers talked greatly about this idea, as well as these other key points:

The emotions around autonomous aircraft–How can we get the public to accept autonomy?

Martin Seif – Co-Founder – Anxiety and Depression Association of America spoke about his “Freedom to Fly” which is the largest program in the US for people who are afraid to fly. –The “Anxiety of ignorance”
70% of people have fears around flying, about 20% have fear that interferes with their flight habits.
The main problem is anticipatory anxiety: “the fear one experiences before something”. People deal with this by talking to the flight creq, flying widebody, or upgrading seats.
Exposure is the active therapeutic ingredient in overcoming a fear of flight.

Why hasn’t Uber for private jets happened yet?

- - The supply challenge-unlike cars, most private aircraft aren’t owned by their operators.
  - The regulatory challenge–how to get FAA on board.
  - The payment challenge–while an Uber transaction is $13 on avergage private jets are on average $22,600 dollars which requires 72 hours of advance processing.
  - “Technology is not the solution to all aviation problems”. Interesting new business models will drive these changes, -Per Marthinsson – Founder of Avinode

Big OEMs aren’t afraid of new energy source innovations—“Moving more people through the air is better for me”–Jon Raviv – Citigroup
- Russia, China, Mitsubishi are making strides. They need to tie build an ecosystem around these airplanes to be successful, and tie the business to someone in the industry with deep pockets to fund certification process. –John Stack, The McLean Group

Insurability:
- Edward Gross, Shareholder at Vedder Price: One crash with a loss of life could mean the end of business but “All things are insurable if you want to pay the price”. What price this might be is yet unknown for the UAM space

XTI Tri-Fan 600 (Bob Labelle – CEO XTI Aircraft)

UAM will be both intra-city and inter-city
There’s a new market emerging with no preferred solution provider yet.
The XTI Tri-Fan 600 is built for 500 nautical-mile commutes. It has 1,100 shp engine with vertical mode supplemented by a battery pack. Four pillars of the competitive model: price ($8million), low operating cost (35 gallons per hour), high cruising altitude, 6-9 passengers.
$400 million in sales in US, Brazil, Australia, Europe, Japan, and more. Prototype scheduled to fly in October 2018.

Airbus and the upcoming UAM revolution

Voom Helicopter Taxi service by Airbus in São Paulo start to prove the business model.
- Now is the right time for UAM because these technologies:
  - IDEP (integrated distributed electric propulsion)
  - Advanced Avionics, UTM (unmanned traffic management) software, and autonomy developments
  - Connected Passengers
  - Growing infrastructure support
- A^3 project was setup in 2015, which includes the Airbus Vahana, Voom, and Altiscope – NextGen UTM.
- UAM systems will need to be localized, not global. And Human Air Traffic controllers are not scalable. – Uma Subramanian, Voom.flights

Rob Wiesenthal – Founder/CEO – Blade

Closest thing to on-demand–7AM to 8PM guarantee a helicopter in 20 minutes
Flights from Blade Lounge in downtown Los Angeles to LAX International Airport are only $20 more expensive than UberBlack, and are 40 minutes faster.
170,000 users to date
Blade has Partnered with Colony Capital and Airbus.

Ben Marcus of Airmap, one of the forefront UTM developers based in Santa Monica, California, spoke about the future of air traffic control.

A Global Aviation Innovation Conference Highlights Flying Cars

05 October 2018 || 5 min read

The Revolution.Aero conference occurred this Monday and Tuesday in San Francisco, led by Alisdair Whyte co-owner and founder of VTOL Investor, Corporate Jet Investor, and Helicopter Investor. Here’s the top takeaways from the event. Key Takeaways: There are currently over 100 electric-propulsion air projects underway funded by more than $2 billion, a nearly three-fold increase in just the past 36...

A Global Aviation Innovation Conference Highlights Flying Cars

05 October 2018 || 5 min read

Key Takeaways:

- There are currently over 100 electric-propulsion air projects underway funded by more than $2 billion, a nearly three-fold increase in just the past 36 months.
- Paul Touw of XOJET for Private Jet Charter Flights spoke about the future of chartered flight. His main point was that commercial aviation won’t work for short term flights , and that eVTOLs are the future of short distance intercity travel owing to their small size, lack of need for airports, their quietness, and their zero emissions.TSA will check in travelers from abroad at ‘Feeder’ airports–this will take the strain off of urban airports.
- - Energy cost of eVTOL flight should be about $3.93 for a 50 mile trip, with a passenger price of about $30 for every 115 miles.
- - Paul Touw Presentation Slide
- eVTOL mesh networks are better than high speed rail because they can get to double the destinations for half the price.
- Initially, eVTOLs will need to be piloted, meaning operators may want to use higher-capacity vehicles to better disperse the pilot cost.
- eVTOLs will be capital intensive investment, at a little under $1billion to develop a new aircraft. This means big companies and new startups will work together in this new industry

Gwen Lighter spoke about the GoFly Compeition, which included 3,000 innovators from 97 countries building thing like jetpacks,hoverbikes, hoverboards, and flying cars. The contest is sponsored by Boeing.

Big companies are starting to acquire the entirety of smaller startups so that they can keep their innovation divisions nimble…an example of this is Aurora Flight Sciences’ acquisition by Boeing.
- Antonio Compello, of EmbraerX mentioned that a lot of aviation is not just about startups, its about partnerships. He said the biggest disruptions will come from business models, not the businesses themselves.
Internet of things will be the next big disruption. (The Astro Aerospace Elroy eVTOL has all its components connected to an LTE network.)
- There are 6,000 aircraft in business aviation with broadband system, but 20,000 that don’t. There’s a huge market opportunity here.
Uber Elevate presented on its future air taxi program, re-iterating its partners and potential future cities, and giving more information about vertiport infrastructure, internet airspace management, and more.
An Uber Elevate vertiport concept
- Uber Also mentioned its near release of Uber EATS by drone, which will utilize Uber’s UTM (Unammaned Traffic Managemet) Automated Control Layer technology made in collaboration with the FAA. It hopes to use this relationship with the FAA to build Elevate Cloud Services for airspace management for passenger drones in the future.
A rendering of what Uber EATS by drone might look like
- Charging:GM boasts chargers that can charge an average electric car battery 80% in 20 minutes
- - Development of electric semi trucks and UPS make for a postive near-future for battery technologies
- - Big players like Airbus, Boeing, and EmbraerX may soon look to acquire startups with charging and battery concepts.
- Hoversurf has announced that it’s ready for consumer sales.

Event in Review: BentonvilleUP

12 September 2018 || 4 min read

This past weekend, the leaders of the urban air mobility industry gathered at BentonvilleUP, an event hosted by TransportUP, in Bentonville, Arkansas to share their progress and reflect on the current state of the urban air mobility industry. The event, which was co-hosted by Ben Marcus of Airmap, Cyrus Sigari of jetAVIVA, and Steuart Walton, was the second annual gathering...

Event in Review: BentonvilleUP

12 September 2018 || 4 min read

The event, which was co-hosted by Ben Marcus of Airmap, Cyrus Sigari of jetAVIVA, and Steuart Walton, was the second annual gathering of a select group of individuals who are defining the future of urban air mobility. Among other attendees included representatives from Joby Aviation, Porsche SE, Boom Aerospace, Verdego, Lilium, Volocopter, EHang, Uber, Pipistrel, Airbus, a number of venture capital firms, and more – the total attendee list included professionals from 70 companies.

The event opened Friday evening with a cocktail hour, airshow, and gala in one of the main hangars at Bentonville Municipal airport – complete with an amphibious Cessna Caravan and a Spitfire to complete the accouterment. Saturday morning, the event began with a jetpack demonstration by Richard Browning of Gravity Enterprises. Mr. Browning then kicked off the morning talks with an overview of his current technology and some advice from his journey through business, aerospace, and entrepreneurship.

Then, a number of urban air mobility specialists overviewed the status of their technology, their innovations, struggles, and achievements that have allowed them to stand out in the UAM industry through a series of lightning talks that spanned the greater part of Saturday. Among some of the largest announcements were those made by EHang and Pipistrel, and some attendees afforded their personal experience dealing with common regulators or technical challenges in efforts to progress the whole industry in lieu of individual gains.

Throughout the event, a number of tours were conducted of the surrounding area in a Huey helicopter, in addition to walking tours of the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art.

On Sunday, the lightning talks continued during the course of the morning. In the afternoon, there was an investor roundtable that sparked discussion toward the current and future state of the industry, the business activities that most drove investment interest, and the mechanics of long term positions in urban air mobility firms.

Here’s the opening video of the flying car conference:

The third annual event scheduled for fall of 2019 is already planned in an undisclosed location.

Why it’s important: BentonvilleUP marks the second in a series of annual conferences that are bringing the urban air mobility industry’s brightest minds together. The collaborative and personal nature of these conferences aides in the sharing of information and lessons learned between UAM companies that is helping to bridge infrastructure, regulatory, and public perception gaps that have been identified as the main hurdles in bringing commercial UAM solutions to widespread market application.

Los Angeles Announces New Mobility Challenge 2018

22 August 2018 || 3 min read

The city of Los Angeles has announced its support of the second annual New Mobility Challenge. The main categories of the two-day pitch competition are Smart Infrastructure, Shared Mobility, Electrification, Autonomous Vehicles, and Personal Mobility. Presented as part of the LaComotion Mobility Festival and sponsored by Metro, the New Mobility Challenge will award companies with cash prizes and support from LA’s best...

Los Angeles Announces New Mobility Challenge 2018

22 August 2018 || 3 min read

Presented as part of the LaComotion Mobility Festival and sponsored by Metro, the New Mobility Challenge will award companies with cash prizes and support from LA’s best new venture investor networks and incubators. Matt Peterson, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), mentioned, “Los Angeles is the epicenter of innovation for creating a zero emissions mobility future”.

The Electrification finalists are electric aircraft developer Ampaire, ConnectMyEv for autonomous EV charging, and Advanced Vehicle Manufacturing,

Ampaire developed the Tailwind, a commercial electric aircraft. The Tailwind is not a eVTOL, but has similar goals such as noise reduction, efficiency, and environmental impact. Ampaire’s work could mean great steps forward for the certification and social acceptance of electric aircraft.

The fully Electric Ampaire Tailwind

Of interest as well is ConnectMyEv. As noted in the Uber Elevate white paper, eVTOL operators will most likely place their ports on tops of large buildings like parking garages. Autonomous docking, charging, and ground management will be a major part of urban e-VTOL transport no matter who develops them.

ConnectMyEV’s autonomous charging solution

Why it’s important: Los Angeles’ investment in a combination of autonomous solutions, electric capabilities, and flight show its commitment to finding high-tech aviation answers to LA’s mobility issues. The traffic issue in LA is the result of an overburned transit system at its capacity, and the emerging eVTOL industry could be an obvious answer. With the amount of interest generated by events like these, the market for eVTOL solutions will surely grow.

Bell’s Patent Application May Reveal Air Taxi Design

16 August 2018 || 2 min read

A patent filed by Bell Flight in January of 2018 may hint at the design of its air taxi concept. US Patent 2018/0208305 shows a three fanned air taxi that has tilting rotors – one on each wingtip and one at the tail of the aircraft – that would enable vertical takeoff and landing. Furthermore, the patent includes provisions for...

Workhorse Unveils New Brand Identity

14 August 2018 || 3 min read

Workhorse unveiled their new “Work Ahead” brand identity in New York City amidst the display of their SureFly flying taxi. Steve Burns, CEO of Workhorse, stated: “We are at a watershed moment as the worlds of alternative energy and transportation become further intertwined. As more brands enter the space, having a strong marketing platform that lets workers know that Workhorse...

Workhorse Unveils New Brand Identity

14 August 2018 || 3 min read

Workhorse unveiled their new “Work Ahead” brand identity in New York City amidst the display of their SureFly flying taxi.

Steve Burns, CEO of Workhorse, stated: “We are at a watershed moment as the worlds of alternative energy and transportation become further intertwined. As more brands enter the space, having a strong marketing platform that lets workers know that Workhorse is a brand they can get behind, because we get behind them, is more important than ever.”

Workhorse is one of the few flying taxi companies to have initiated the flying car certification process with the FAA in the United States.

The SureFly eVTOL

“The SureFly is a two-place hybrid-electric VTOL multi-copter aircraft developed by Workhorse in Loveland, OH. It is designed to accommodate a pilot and passenger or a pilot and cargo, up to 550 pounds at a speed of about 70 miles per hour, for up to two hours, day or night. The aircraft utilizes a fly-by-wire flight control system designed to maintain the flight envelope of the aircraft.”

The SureFly has a ballistic parachute that works above 100 feet AGL in the event of major powerplant abnormalities – but also features eight rotors for redundancy; if one of them fails the aircraft can still operate normally.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accepted Workhorse’s application for Type Certification in June of 2018. The SureFly is anticipated to have a $200,000 MSRP.

Why it’s important: Workhorse was the first company to apply for and be accepted to commencement of the FAA Type Certification process, which means that they lead the flying taxi industry in certification efforts in the United States. Their path forward will be closely monitored by other flying car and taxi companies looking to gain intuition into best practices for navigating an entirely new certification space with the Federal Aviation Administration.

Source

Workhorse Group Inc
MarketsInsider

Flying Car Startups to Pitch at Revolution.Aero

09 August 2018 || 2 min read

Five or six “shortlisted” eVTOL companies that have secured less than $5 million in funding will be invited to the Revolution.Aero conference October 1 and 2 at the Grand Hyatt, San Francisco, according to the conference’s website. “They will then receive comments from the judges and be voted for by the audience” stated the conference schedule – indicating that the...

BlackFly Powers into the Flying Car Industry

12 July 2018 || 2 min read

The BlackFly, an eVTOL made by tech company Opener, released footage of the first flight of their craft, which is powered by eight fans spread across two wings. Here’s a video: The BlackFly is being worked on by Opener, a Palo Alto – based corporation that has kept the development of the eVTOL under wraps until recently when they disclosed...

Categories

Tags

Archives

Category: Events

This Year’s Top Urban Air Mobility Highlights

This Year’s Top Urban Air Mobility Highlights

You can read more about the above-featured stories here:

Highlights From

Also notable this year:

UAM Aircraft Prototypes On Display at CES

UAM Aircraft Prototypes On Display at CES

Discussing the Future of Flight: The Lindbergh Innovation Forum

Discussing the Future of Flight: The Lindbergh Innovation Forum

2019 Detroit Auto Show to Host Workhorse Group’s Surefly Octocopter Exhibition

2019 Detroit Auto Show to Host Workhorse Group’s Surefly Octocopter Exhibition

NASA completes first steps in Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge

NASA completes first steps in Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Opens Center for Mobility with Vertical Lift

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Opens Center for Mobility with Vertical Lift

NASA to Host Urban Air Mobility Challenge Industry Day

NASA to Host Urban Air Mobility Challenge Industry Day

Zunum Aero Partners with Safran and More From The Latest Aviation Innovation Conference

Zunum Aero Partners with Safran and More From The Latest Aviation Innovation Conference

Zunum Aero, an electric commercial airplane developer, has announced its partnership with Safran Helicopter Engines.

A Global Aviation Innovation Conference Highlights Flying Cars

A Global Aviation Innovation Conference Highlights Flying Cars

Event in Review: BentonvilleUP

Event in Review: BentonvilleUP

Los Angeles Announces New Mobility Challenge 2018

Los Angeles Announces New Mobility Challenge 2018

Bell’s Patent Application May Reveal Air Taxi Design

Bell’s Patent Application May Reveal Air Taxi Design

Workhorse Unveils New Brand Identity

Workhorse Unveils New Brand Identity

Flying Car Startups to Pitch at Revolution.Aero

Flying Car Startups to Pitch at Revolution.Aero

BlackFly Powers into the Flying Car Industry

BlackFly Powers into the Flying Car Industry

You can read more about the above-featured stories here:

Highlights From

Also notable this year:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Zunum Aero, an electric commercial airplane developer, has announced its partnership with Safran Helicopter Engines.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: