Category: Operators

Archer and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to enable Archer to benefit from access to FCA’s low-cost supply chain, advanced composite material capabilities, and engineering and design experience.

Credit // Archer

California-based Archer is creating the world’s first all-electric airline that moves people throughout the world’s cities in a quick, safe, sustainable, and cost-effective manner. The new partnership will help accelerate Archer’s timeline in becoming an industry leader with the resources and capabilities to capitalize on the new era of sustainable air mobility, a market that Morgan Stanley estimates will be $1.5 trillion by 2040. Last May, Archer emerged from ‘stealth mode’ and announced its plan to deliver a sustainable and efficient vehicle with the financial support of investors including Walmart eCommerce CEO Marc Lore.

Related: Archer Joins Aerial Mobility Space with eVTOL Prototype

Archer will manufacture high-volume, composite, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with the intent of starting production in 2023. FCA, the parent company of established automobile brands including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, has already collaborated on cockpit design elements of Archer’s first aircraft which is expected to be unveiled in early 2021. The 100% electric aircraft will be capable of traveling distances of up to 60 miles at 150 mph. Through this announced collaboration, the companies will work together to significantly decrease the cost of production, enabling Archer to bring affordably priced services to customers via its ultra-quiet, high-performance eVTOL aircraft.

Archer’s founders Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein.

“We’ve been hyper-focused on a customer-first approach to vehicle design and aircraft operations,” said Brett Adcock, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Archer. “Now we are working with a seasoned, industry-leading automotive partner to leverage cost benefits and experience that will allow Archer to produce thousands of aircraft reliably and affordably every single year.”

“Electrification within the transportation sector, whether on roads or in the air is the future and with any new and rapidly developing technology, scale is important,” said Doug Ostermann, Vice President and Head of Global Business Development of FCA. “Our partnership with Archer has mutual benefits and will enable innovative, environmentally friendly transportation solutions to be brought to market at an accelerated pace.”

“We are excited to team up with one of the world’s largest automotive companies on our mission of advancing the benefits of sustainable air mobility” said Adam Goldstein, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Archer. “This is a first-of-its-kind deal for one of Detroit’s Big Three auto makers in moving into the Urban Air Mobility space. There is now a clear path for Archer to bring mass production to this industry, changing the way people travel in and around cities forever.”

Why it’s important: Archer’s partnership with one of the world’s largest car manufacturers is expected to assist the startup in lowering its purchasing costs and accelerating the launch of its eVTOL air taxi. FCA’s expertise and established supply chain will also enable the two companies to minimize the cost of manufacturing, making high-volume manufacturing achievable and sustainable.

Lilium, a German-based air taxi developer and leader in aerial mobility and eVTOL technologies, has selected Lufthansa Aviation Training to partner on the development of a pilot sourcing and training program for its Lilium Jet.

With the expected advent of commercially available eVTOL platform services over the next few years, pilots will need to become familiar with the new mode of transportation and achieve type ratings as required by regulatory agencies, such as the EASA and FAA. The first phase of the training program will award pilots the type rating required to fly the Lilium Jet. Notably, the program will also employ the use of mixed and virtual reality technologies, paving the way for pilot training worldwide.

Commenting on the partnership, Remo Gerber, Chief Operating Officer, Lilium said: “Opening a new professional segment for pilots of the future is a challenge we have long been excited to undertake and Lufthansa Aviation Training is the perfect partner. Their insights, experience and dedication to forward-thinking training concepts ensure that our pilots will be selected and trained to the highest caliber, an industry standard which we will establish through this partnership.”

Lufthansa Aviation Training will provide expertise into the training and development of competencies necessary to fulfill the need for a new field of piloting, complementing Lilium’s own expertise in eVTOLs and the regional air mobility service it is building. The training program will be the first of its kind globally and a significant milestone on Lilium’s road to launch. Lufthansa Aviation Training has almost 200 training devices within its training fleet, including aircraft for pilot training, flight simulators of all common aircraft types for pilot training and emergency and service mock-ups for the training of flight attendants.

Lufthansa Aviation Training already provides services to produce commercial pilots across Europe and looks to add eVTOL type ratings in the future.

Discussing the partnership further, Tiziana Heilig, Managing Director and CFO, LAT said: “We are thrilled to be working with Lilium to create a training setup, which is unlike any seen before. As one of the leaders in this vibrant sector, we look forward to this cooperation to share each other’s wealth of knowledge to provide an unparalleled aviation training experience.”

Lilium has stated it is developing this program with input from EASA and the FAA. This will ensure the training program will produce pilots capable of operating the Lilium jet in two key global markets necessary to become a commercial success.

Why it matters: Lilium has created a robust solution to aerial mobility with its design and prototype building of the Lilium Jet. The company has also secured over $375M in funding, in addition to key industry and regulatory partnerships. This latest addition will pave the way to Lilium finding commercial success in this new industry as it tackles the hurdle of producing pilots to operate their prototype.

Source: Lilium Press Release

In the coming weeks, we can expect to see a full-scale prototype of Vertical Aerospace’s latest electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft fly for the first time. The company has been quietly conducting advanced research and development on its vehicle, while simultaneously securing more publicly-announced partnerships with Honeywell and Dassault.

Just last week, Vertical Aerospace shared a sneak-peek of its new aircraft design. Judging from the images, the vehicle can be expected to utilize four propellers in a tilt-wing configuration, as well as a v-tail configuration for stability and control. Honeywell, as recently announced, will supply the multitouch displays, avionics system controls, avionics software and vehicle operating system.

We have signed a letter of intent to provide @VerticalAero with flight deck technology for their #UAM demonstrator vehicle. #eVTOL

— Honeywell Aerospace (@Honeywell_Aero) August 11, 2020

With regards to the announcement, Michael Cervenka, CEO of Vertical Aerospace said, “Vertical is well advanced in the development of its next-generation, high-performance, passenger-carrying vehicle. We are excited at the prospect of broadening our partnership with Honeywell, enabling our vehicles to leverage not only Honeywell’s flight control systems, but also to marry these with the very latest in intuitive and safe flight deck technologies.”

The upcoming aircraft is predicted to be capable of carrying a pilot and four passengers up to 100 miles at speeds of up to 240km/h.

A sneak preview of Vertical Aerospace’s upcoming aircraft, to be announced in full shortly.

Last year, the Bristol-based startup revealed flight footage of an electric vertical take off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) capable of carrying loads of up to 250kg – the first company in the world to do so. The prototype, named Seraph, completed its maiden flight at Llanbedr Airfield in Wales on August 22, 2019.

Vertical plans to operate the Seraph (featured above) itself, in addition to the new aircraft to be announced. The company has already flown two full-scale prototypes of the Seraph at a maximum speed of 80km/h and with a payload of 250kg. Last year, Honeywell supplied Vertical’s demonstration aircraft with its Compact Fly-By-Wire System and flight control software, so the two already have collaboration experience.

The Vertical Aerospace Seraph, a record-setting  aircraft that completed its first test flight last year.

Why it’s important: The announcement of new contracts and strategic aerial mobility partnerships – including Vertical Aerospace, and in general – signals promising forward momentum in the UAM industry. The unveiling of the upcoming new aircraft from Vertical is eagerly awaited and will mark a large milestone for Vertical Aerospace and Honeywell, as it will showcase technologies that we may expect to see implemented in other aerial mobility vehicles. This partnership will also serve as an opportunity for eVTOL aircraft manufacturers to witness Honeywell’s technologies in a physical prototype and evaluate whether they will adopt Honeywell’s specific features in their own eVTOL prototype designs. Honeywell, in return, has much industry reputation to gain from Vertical Aerospace’s unveiling of the upcoming aircraft, as the supplier could potentially earn itself several new contracts following an impressive vehicle demonstration.

Related: 

• Vertical Aerospace Confirms Partnership with Honeywell
• Honeywell Releases Their New Compact Fly-By-Wire System for UAM
• Listen to the TransportUP Podcast Interview with Vertical Aerospace CEO Michael Cervenka

Source // Honeywell; AINOnline