Category: Vehicles/Manufactures

Flying Car Startups Emerge in Israel

27 November 2018 || 3 min read

After selling his IoT software company to General Electric in 2017, Israeli entrepreneur Guy Kaplinsky has has founded flying car startup ‘New Future Transportation’. “The need for change is obvious, due to the increasing congestion in large cities and the ever-increasing traffic problems.” Says Kaplinsky, who plans to develop a flying car that can effectively take to the road as...

Flying Car Startups Emerge in Israel

27 November 2018 || 3 min read

After selling his IoT software company to General Electric in 2017, Israeli entrepreneur Guy Kaplinsky has has founded flying car startup ‘New Future Transportation’.

Concept teaser image of the upcoming NFT aircraft

“The need for change is obvious, due to the increasing congestion in large cities and the ever-increasing traffic problems.” Says Kaplinsky, who plans to develop a flying car that can effectively take to the road as well as the skies. Kalipsky believes the vehicle will be about the size of an average SUV, and will even be competitively priced to one. His vision is for a vehicle that comes in both electric and hybrid models, and has at least semi-autonomous capabilities for both the ground and the air.

Unlike many competitors, Kaplinsky plans to aim more at the automotive sector than at the aerospace center. “We are working on a different product, which is indeed a flying car, but one that would be able to move on the ground, fly in the air and find a standard parking space at the end of the journey.” New Future Transport already has $2 million in funding put in by Kaplinsky himself, and is currently looking for another $15 million to take its prototype to the skies in mid to late 2015.

Also from Israel comes the Cormorant, developed by Israeli firm Urban Aeronautics. CEO Rafi Yoeli imagines that this vehicle, which completed unmanned test flights in November of 2016, will be used to autonomously clear areas of chemicals in emergency situations or to evacuate injured soldiers in the battlefield. Urban Aeronautics has been working on the concept, previously called the ‘Air Mule’, since 2001. Each unit will cost around $20 million, have a carrying capacity of about 500kg, and be able to fly at speeds of up to 185kph.

Why it’s important: As flying car development begins to become more prevalent around the world, the solutions and technologies available will become more and more wide-ranging. This means that competition is beginning to grow, and as a result the industry is becoming more widespread and advanced. Companies like Urban Aeronautics and NFT contribute to an ever-diversifying range of applications for eVTOL technology.

MIT Engineers Fly Plane Powered With Ionic Wind

24 November 2018 || 3 min read

What a flying car powered by ionic wind may one day look like. Scientists at MIT hit a major breakthrough earlier this week when they competed test flights of a model airplane powered completely by ionic wind. This means the aircraft had no moving parts, was completely silent, and produced absolutely no carbon emissions. It was also fully electric. A...

MIT Engineers Fly Plane Powered With Ionic Wind

24 November 2018 || 3 min read

Scientists at MIT hit a major breakthrough earlier this week when they competed test flights of a model airplane powered completely by ionic wind. This means the aircraft had no moving parts, was completely silent, and produced absolutely no carbon emissions. It was also fully electric.

A time-lapse of the ionic wind plane in flight taken by MIT

This advancement represents a major step for the science of aviation. The MIT test plane is one of the first ever ‘solid-state’ aircraft, meaning it has no mechanical moving parts. According to associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT Steven Barrett, this technology has “potentially opened new and unexplored possibilities for aircraft which are quieter, mechanically simpler, and do not emit combustion emissions.”

For the world of Urban Aviation, this could one day mean that we see urban eVTOLs powered not by rotors, but by charged ionic wind. Ionic wind as a propulsion system would work extremely effectively for urban operations, since the solution is emission-free, completely silent, and invulnerable to potential mechanical interference.

Ionic wind is created by electric current. In the model aircraft by MIT, 20,000 volts of electricity are run through two wires on the underside of the the plane’s wings. The front wire is charged to positive, while the back wire is charged to negative. The front wire removes electrons from nitrogen in the air around the plane, making them negatively charged and causing them to accelerate quickly towards the back wire. The acceleration of this ‘wind’ gives the airplane thrust, which in turn generates lift for its wings.

Why it’s important: While the commercialization of ionic wind technology made be further down the road, it’s important to keep track of the feasibility development of these technologies as they may one day set the trend for flying vehicles.

Boeing and SparkCognition Launch SkyGrid for AI Route Planning

22 November 2018 || 5 min read

SkyGrid is a new company jointly founded by Boeing and SparkCognition to build AI-powered software for managing airspace with autonomous vehicles. SkyGrid’s purpose is to integrate all urban airspace traffic including cargo and passenger air vehicles as well as package delivery drones. According to its website, “SkyGrid is the world’s first artificial intelligence and blockchain-powered aerial operating system for next-generation...

Boeing and SparkCognition Launch SkyGrid for AI Route Planning

22 November 2018 || 5 min read

SkyGrid is a new company jointly founded by Boeing and SparkCognition to build AI-powered software for managing airspace with autonomous vehicles.

SkyGrid’s purpose is to integrate all urban airspace traffic including cargo and passenger air vehicles as well as package delivery drones.

According to its website, “SkyGrid is the world’s first artificial intelligence and blockchain-powered aerial operating system for next-generation travel and transport that will ensure safe integration of autonomous air vehicles.”

The SkyGrid program will enable the future of urban air mobility by providing a smart, safe, secure way for air vehicles to travel. One of SkyGrid’s greatest advantages is that it will offer AI-enabled route identification. Simply put, SkyGrid is an automated air traffic controller for autonomous vehicles in urban areas.

SkyGrid works through the power of machine learning, using big data to efficiently and safely manage aircraft routes. The system will takes into account current air traffic in the area, weather, vehicle diagnostics, and in-flight route modification when assigning routes. Eventually, SkyGrid’s goal is to provide autonomous navigation directly to vehicles.

SkyGrid plans to work with the FAA and NASA regulations to eventually achieve automated flight plan approval. Boeing is partnered with Uber Elevate, both of which have been in extensive talks with NASA and the FAA. NASA is also holding a series of Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenges that will give companies like SkyGrid a chance to prove the safety of their technology and provide a framework for regulation. The first of these challenges will be in 2020.

NASA artwork for what the future of urban air mobility may look like

It’s unclear yet whether SkyGrid will only be available for autonomous vehicles, or will be used for route guidance in piloted aircraft as well. Since autonomy is likely to come later than piloted aircraft (as stated by many vehicle developers), it would make sense for Boeing to develop a version of SkyGrid that works for those initial piloted vehicles. Boeing has yet declined to state who their exact customers will be, but has stated that it is already working with several partners on many potential use cases.

The announcement of the SkyGrid venture comes four months after Boeing and SparkCognition announced their partnership in July of 2018 with the intent of creating the digital UTM system. At that time, SparkCognition CEO Amir Husai commented:

“Estimated by some analysts at $3 trillion, the urban aerial mobility opportunity will lead to the creation of the largest new market in our lifetimes.”

Husai will now also serve as the CEO of SkyGrid. He states:

“By offering scalable and robust capabilities in a single, integrated framework, SkyGrid will make large-scale air vehicle applications more practical and accessible.”

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg put out this tweet:

Excited to partner with @SparkCognition on @SkyGridAI… having the right digital infrastructure is key to achieving safe and reliable urban air mobility. https://t.co/HhzchsBEYm

— Dennis A. Muilenburg (@BoeingCEO) November 20, 2018

Why it’s important: The effective development of UTM systems is vital to a future of autonomous urban air mobility aircraft. While systems like SkyGrid and Airmap are made for autonomous operations and currently focus on drones, their development marks the first step towards safe autonomous passenger aircraft. It’s likely that UTM systems will scale from unmanned drone management to route guidance for piloted aircraft, and then eventually to autonomous passenger vehicles.

Jetcopter Releases New VTOL Concept

20 November 2018 || 4 min read

In early September, Jetcopter showed the world its concept for a jet-powered VTOL. Now, it has re-iterated the design with a larger version that can fit up to seven passengers. In September, we noted Jetcopter’s unique design concept–it’s one of the only VTOLs that will be powered by jets rather than propellers. Earlier this week, Jetcopter released concept images...

Jetcopter Releases New VTOL Concept

20 November 2018 || 4 min read

In early September, Jetcopter showed the world its concept for a jet-powered VTOL. Now, it has re-iterated the design with a larger version that can fit up to seven passengers.

In September, we noted Jetcopter’s unique design concept–it’s one of the only VTOLs that will be powered by jets rather than propellers.

The Jetcopter’s vertical lift is provided by jet fans on its roof which push air through four end point nozzles.

Earlier this week, Jetcopter released concept images of its updated design, along with an announcement that it will bring a full scale mockup of the Jetcopter VTOL to the AERO 2019 aviation exhibition EuroFriedrichshafen, Germany, in April 2019.

The new design has a larger body than than the original, which could only carry six people and was designed for passengers rather than cargo. With the new concept, Jetcopter plans to produce a cargo version of the aircraft before releasing the passenger version.

The former version of the Jetcopter

Jetcopter’s new larger design includes a ramp to make the loading and unloading of cargo easier.

Jetcopter also announced that it has successfully tested its jet propulsion system, confirming feasibility for the Jetcopter itself.

The Jetcopter’s design is also unique in that it will be powered by two traditional automotive engines These two engines will provide power for the jet fans on the vehicle’s roof, which will push air through the vectored nozzles that provide lift for and control the aircraft.

The Jetcopter will also have a ground mode that will allow it to move around on the road

The Jetcopter has a carbon fiber based fuselage, a planned range of 620 miles, and a top speed of 180mph. It’s two engines each have 400hp available. The price will be around $350,000. Learn more about the Jetcopter.

Why it’s important: It’s important to note that Jetcopter has chosen to release a cargo version of its aircraft before releasing the passenger version. In a recent speech, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg predicted that initial urban air mobility operations will begin with cargo flights in the next five years. By choosing to release a cargo version of its aircraft first, Jetcopter has increased the likelihood of beginning operations soon, and has a given itself a chance to be a the forefront of inspiring public confidence in VTOLs.

Dufour Aerospace Announces Senior Advisory Team

16 November 2018 || 4 min read

Dufour Aerospace is a unique VTOL start-up based in Switzerland. It’s mission is to develop a passenger VTOL for areas like the Swiss Alps, where mountainous terrain can cause extremely long travel times between cities. The Dufour team has already made significant progress by developing an electric airplane that has proven flight up to one hour, multiple times per day....

Dufour Aerospace Announces Senior Advisory Team

16 November 2018 || 4 min read

The Dufour team has already made significant progress by developing an electric airplane that has proven flight up to one hour, multiple times per day. Dufour predicts that it will have its aEro2 eVTOL for testing by 2020.

The aEro1, the Dufour Aerospace electric test plane

The aEro1, Dufour’s electric test plane

On November 14th, Dufour announced the formation of Senior Advisory team, which includes Professor Dr. Leonardo Manfriani (former chief aerodynamicist at Pilatus Aircraft), Dr. Pierluigi Capone (former head of flight control laws at AgustaWestland), and Dr. Jean-Christophe Zufferey (Co-founder and former CEO of senseFly).

Dufour Aerospace new senior advisory team

Left to right: Professor Dr. Leonardo Manfrianni of Pilatus Aircraft, Dr. Jean-Christophe Zuffrey of senseFly, and Dr. Pierluigi Capone of AugustWestland flight control laws.

This Announcement also comes with a statement from Dufour saying that The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm recently conducted a performance review of the aEro2’s design, which confirmed its stability with at least 10% safety margin across all modes of flight.

Dufour is also closely working on its R&D projects with ETH Zürich and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences to “further develop Dufour’s tilt-wing aircraft propulsion, control systems, and human-machine interfaces”.

Among the notable members of the Senior Advisory team is Dr. Jean-Christophe Zufferey, who is the co-founder and former CEO of senseFly, which developed a series of fixed-wing drones for various commercial mapping needs including agriculture, construction, environmental protection, and mining. Drones made by sureFly can fly up to 90 minutes at altitudes up to 400 ft. SureFly is now a subsidiary of the Parrot Group.

Dufour Aerospace hires senseFly Cofounder

senseFly’s long-distance drone offerings

Also significant on the advisory team is Dr. Leonardo Manfriani, former chief aerodynamicist at Pilatus Aircraft. Pilatus is a leading developer of private aircraft ranging from trainer planes to passenger jets. Having Manfriani on the senior advisory will greatly help Dufour reach its goal of a 2020 fuselage build.

Dufour takes on chief aerodynamicist at Pilatus

An example of some of the aircraft built by Pilatus

Why it’s important: With the formation of its new senior advisory team, Dufour continues to grow. In early September, it hired test pilot Damian Hischier, who has extensive experience in testing new aircraft. The new senior advisory team further validates the aEro2 concept, and builds momentum for Dufour.

Tesla Batteries Won’t Work for Urban Aviation: A First Principles Approach

13 November 2018 || 10 min read

They’re Great for Cars, But Not so Much Urban Aviation Over the last 20 years, batteries have been one of the slowest developed hardware components in the world. Solar power, advanced materials, and next generation manufacturing processes have all sparked new business and provided the technological momentum to create new industries. All but the battery. In order for the Urban...

Tesla Batteries Won’t Work for Urban Aviation: A First Principles Approach

13 November 2018 || 10 min read

They’re Great for Cars, But Not so Much Urban Aviation

Over the last 20 years, batteries have been one of the slowest developed hardware components in the world. Solar power, advanced materials, and next generation manufacturing processes have all sparked new business and provided the technological momentum to create new industries. All but the battery. In order for the Urban Air Mobility industry to accomplish the major tenet of environmental sustainability, battery tech needs to catch up. So why the lag? And how have companies like Tesla and Faraday Future been able to bring their products to market despite the challenges that battery technology provides?

The duFour aEro2: an example of a conceptual electric urban aviation vehicle.

The Current State of Battery Technology

To understand why the Urban Air Mobility industry is still 10 years from being completely electric, the current state of battery technology should be understood. The key metric for any battery is energy density – the amount of energy that can be stored in a given volume. The higher the density, the smaller the battery required for a certain amount of energy, or the more energy that can be stored in the same amount of space. To “optimize” battery tech, energy density must be maximized. However, unlike Moore’s law (in which processor power, or components per function, increases exponentially with time) battery energy density has seen a meager 3% increase in energy density year over year.

Just 3% in Energy Density Increase Per Year.

There are a couple types of batteries that have widespread application – Lithium Ion and Alkaline. While Alkaline is used in virtually all household batteries, its energy density is lower than that of the Lithium Ion batteries – but Alkaline batteries are much safer than Li-Ion batteries, which have a nasty habit of being impossible to extinguish should they combust. Most electric transportation applications require a large amount of energy, and so virtually all use Li-Ion batteries to take advantage of the greater energy density while accepting the safety risk. But, Li-Ion energy density is still too low; the required density for flying transportation modes is much higher than driving applications because weight is at a premium.

Surely the world can do better – so why haven’t we?

Similar Industries: Tesla & Trucks

Tesla (and more recently Faraday Future) have been able to market electric vehicles effectively because they’ve capitalized on Lithium Ion batteries with energy densities reported to be around 900Wh/L, or 250 Wh/kg. [1] For reference, an Alkaline AA battery holds about 4 Wh of energy [2] with a corresponding energy density of 700Wh/L. While this comparison illustrates how much higher the energy density of Li-Ion batteries is compared to that of Alkaline batteries, the quantity of energy required for an electric vehicle is still staggering. A Tesla Model S boasts fast acceleration and performance, but what many fail to realize is that the vehicle itself weighs almost 1,000 lbs more than any similar sedan with an internal combustion engine (mostly due to battery weight). 900 Wh/L is “good enough” for road applications because higher weights are acceptable. However, an electric vehicle in flight demands the minimum weight possible. How much farther must energy density be increased for batteries to become a practical source of aerial energy? The answer is simple: a comparable power to a Tesla Model S is required, but at 80% of the current weight of the Tesla battery packs (which is about 1,200lbs) – more on how we arrived at that figure later. For comparison, the Volocopter weighs 996 lbs – less than the total weight of the Tesla battery packs. Fortunately, the Volocopter (and other UAM solutions) require less than 1,200 lbs, or 85kW, of power, but weight is still at an absolute premium.

A Tesla P90D’s battery pack weighs more than the entire Volocopter VC200

Before we address this ultimate goal of the feasibility of battery power in the urban aviation industry, we’ll turn to a different industry that’s familiar to many: consumer drones.

The Drone Industry

One hybrid industry that provides a bridge between aviation and electric transportation is the recreational drone industry. Drones are little more than battery packs with any number of brushless electric motors powering small propellers at each corner of the device; oftentimes four are used to aid in stability. UAM solutions are much larger and more complex – but the physics of the energy required to stay aloft remain the same in both cases. For instance, the DJI Mavic Pro weighs 734g and can stay aloft for 31 minutes using a 46W battery, which is a typical capacity for a small drone. To condense these statistics into one comparable unit, like kg/kW, we get 8.2. This number doesn’t mean much on its own, but if the weight of the aircraft is multiplied by the time aloft desired, a rough estimate of the total energy required may be obtained.

Drones like the DJI Mavic Pro provide a good segway from batteries and remote control airplanes to urban aviation

An important note – using different propeller sizes and energy conservation assumptions will yield different quantities of energy required; this is just a simplified first principles approach.

The UAM Industry

So how much power would a vehicle like the Volocopter require to fly for one hour? Using the kg/W factor of 8.2 to solve for this figure the Volocopter would conservatively need 26.7kWh of energy. Remember back to the Tesla example – the Model S batteries have a capacity of 85kWh (3 times greater than that of the Volocopter) but at a weight of 1,200lbs. So if the Model S batteries were removed and 1/3th of the cores were installed on a UAM, they would represent approximately a 400lb weight – which is more than 40% of the weight of the V200X itself.

Would a Tesla P90D battery work for urban aviation? Most likely, no.

Roadblocks

This 20% figure doesn’t sound high, but when you compare the energy in that 200lbs of weight (14kW or 50.3 Megajoules) to the energy stored in 200lbs of Jet-A (4126 Megajoules) it quickly becomes apparent that Jet-A has prevailed for so many years because of its extremely high energy content.

While Jet-A fuel is a less desirable fuel in terms of environmental impact, its energy density is far superior to almost every other energy source.

Advantages

But this doesn’t mean that it’s not possible for batteries to be “good enough”. Fortunately, aerodynamic innovations mean that matching the energy density of Jet-A is not required; batteries can do good enough with their own lower energy density, and with the added benefit of zero emissions, which is a huge win over Jet-A fuel. The magical 80% figure mentioned in the first comparison of Tesla batteries’ applicability to the UAM industry is critical because, in general, a 20% weight reduction of the battery pack alone would free up enough weight for additional energy storage, baggage capacity, or avionics and flight hardware. This would reduce the 200lb Volocopter battery to 160lbs (or just 16% of the total weight of the aircraft) and would allow energy density to scale to the third power since the reduction in volume for a reduction of weight is not linearly proportional. The 20% reduction, or 80% capacity rule is a benchmark to chase.

In Conclusion

How realistic would it be to achieve this reduction in weight; this increase in energy density? At the current rate of battery technology advancement, about 7 years. Is this soon enough? Many would say yes, but the bigger concern is not being addressed: how long will it take battery technology to achieve 30% and 40% reductions, or progress to the point where the energy capacity of Jet-A is challenged? The next 7 years will be a true barometer of success, and small scale demonstrations of battery technology in people-carrying Urban Air Mobility situations will help increase the general awareness of the advantages of electric aerial transportation. Eventually the time will come for more than 3% per year, but only once a larger audience realizes the potential benefit.

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.

Lilium Adds Former Executives From Airbus and Audi

11 November 2018 || 4 min read

The Lilium air taxi is getting closer to market. It recently hired Mirko Reuter, former head of Automated Driving at Audi, Jakob Waeschenbach, former head of Equipment Installation at Airbus, and Rochus Moenter, former Vice President of Finance and Leasing at Airbus. Lilium is a German company based out of Munich. Its air taxi design is one of the sleekest on the market, and...

Lilium Adds Former Executives From Airbus and Audi

11 November 2018 || 4 min read

Lilium is a German company based out of Munich. Its air taxi design is one of the sleekest on the market, and with over $90 million in funding achieved just last year, its well on its way to being one of the world’s first on demand air taxis.

Mirko Reuter, the new Head of Autonomous Flight at Lilium, was formerly the Head of Automated Driving at Audi. There, he led the development of all automated driving functions, as well as the development of vehicle platforms technologies and future vehicle concepts. At Lilium, he will be responsible for the process of developing the technologies necessarily to bring autonomous flights completely to market.

Lilium hires Mirko Reuter, former head of autonomous driving at Audi

“I am deeply committed to our mission of creating a revolutionary service that enables effective and affordable transportation that is widely used among all sectors of society. At Lilium, we are building a new and revolutionary way of transport, and I am very excited to be a part of it.” -Mikro Router

Jakob Waeschenbach, formerly the Head of Equipment Installation at Airbus, will be the new Head of Aircraft Assembly at Lilium. Waeschenbach spent years at Airbus ensuring quality in manufacturing, engineering, logistics, supply chain and finance. He also developed Airbus’s new and certified production line of the Single Aisle Family of aircraft. At Lilium, he will “lead the convergence between aircraft and automotive production”, and will assist in establish Lilium’s first production facility.

Lilium's new head of Aircraft Assembly Jakob Waeschenbac

“I am thrilled to shape the early stages of merging automotive and aircraft production to finally change travelling and commuting in urban spaces. Catching onto this unique momentum is incredibly exciting.” -Jakob Waeschenbach,

Lilium will also be adding Roechus Moenter, who was the former Vice President of Airbus’s Finance and Leasing Group. Moenter will be the General Counsel and Head of Legal for Lilium.

The company is unique in that it plans to be a direct competitor to UberAir. Like Uber Elevate, it plans to roll out its services in 2025. Unlike many of the current eVTOL developers on the market, Lilium has not sought to become a partner for Uber, and instead has opted to develop its own operations and front-end service. Potential routes are Manhattan to JFK and Paris to London.

As a reminder, the Lilium is a eVTOL featuring tilted duct-fans that can travel at speeds up to 300km/h with a 300km range. It’s design features a total of 18 integrated jet engines that can seamlessly transition from horizontal to Vertical flight. Lilium completed it’s maiden flight in April 2017, and Lilium plans to complete it’s first manned test flight in 2019. Read more about the Lilium eVTOL.

Why it’s important:

With this major hire from two big players in vehicle innovation and production, Lilium further marks it’s place as main competitor for air taxi services. With Uber as one of the other biggest companies in the space, Lilium needs to be doing everything it can to put itself at the forefront of the industry, as conveyed by Lilium CEO and co-founder:

“To bring the best talent to Lilium has always been our goal. We are delighted to welcome such a high calibre of new team members that will bring a wealth of expertise in key strategic areas to our growing company and further enable our vision.”

Hoversurf Has a New CEO and is Training Police on Hoverbikes in Dubai

09 November 2018 || 3 min read

A few weeks after delivering its first S3 Hoverbike to the Dubai Police, Hoversurf has transitioned its leadership to new CEO Steve Weinstein. Weinstein has been with Hoversurf as its Strategic Advisor since early 2018. During the year, he led Hoversurf’s partnerships with aerospace and fabrication companies, and has been raising awareness for the Series A funding round, which will...

Hoversurf Has a New CEO and is Training Police on Hoverbikes in Dubai

09 November 2018 || 3 min read

A few weeks after delivering its first S3 Hoverbike to the Dubai Police, Hoversurf has transitioned its leadership to new CEO Steve Weinstein.

Weinstein has been with Hoversurf as its Strategic Advisor since early 2018. During the year, he led Hoversurf’s partnerships with aerospace and fabrication companies, and has been raising awareness for the Series A funding round, which will focus on raising funds for Hoversurf’s two and four seat eVTOL.

Rendering of what the Hoversurf eVTOL may look like

In the past month, Hoversurf hit a huge milestone by delivering the first production S3 Hoverbike to the Dubai Police. This delivery fulfills an agreement between the Dubai Government and Hoversurf back in 2017 to give the Dubai police exclusive ordering rights.

The Dubai Police have already hired two crews to begin training on the hoverbike. Brigadier Khalid Nasser Alrazooqi, general director of the Dubai Police’s artificial intelligence department, envisions that the eVTOL vehicle will be used as a first responder unit to access hard to reach areas. He plans for the hoverbikes to go into service in 2020.

Alex Atamanov, founder and former CEO of Hoversurf, said, “there is no better person to lead our company and its vision than Steve Weinstein. His vision is perfectly in line with that of our company mission.”

In addition to his years at Hoversurf, Weinstein has years of experience as both an air force and commercial pilot. He has also held previous positions advising Fortune 500 Technology companies.

Steve Weinstein is both a former air force pilot and advisor for Fortune 500 technology companies

Hoversurf is currently selling the S3 Hoverbike to consumers for $150,000. The aircraft requires no pilots license, but Hoversurf will have a screening process for buyers to make sure they can handle the vehicle responsibly. The S3 has a top speed of 60mph and a recommended cruising altitude of 5 meters. Learn more about the Hoversurf S3.

Why it’s important: With it’s sale to the Dubai Police, Hoversurf has become one of the first companies to break into the production stage of eVTOL development. It’s also one of the first to offer its vehicle to the public. Hoversurf’s progress indicates great future success potential for the eVTOL market, and the first of its consumer sales will most likely also help inspire public confidence in eVTOLs.

Bell Adds Electric Power Systems as a Partner for its Air Taxi

08 November 2018 || 4 min read

Bell has added yet another company to its growing list of partners for the Bell Air Taxi project. This time, it’s Electric Power Systems (EPS). Bell’s original design for the air taxi was full electric, but since further feasibility analysis, it has made the switch to hybrid electric. Bell also made this move to try to stick to its goal...

Bell Adds Electric Power Systems as a Partner for its Air Taxi

08 November 2018 || 4 min read

Bell has added yet another company to its growing list of partners for the Bell Air Taxi project. This time, it’s Electric Power Systems (EPS).

Bell’s original design for the air taxi was full electric, but since further feasibility analysis, it has made the switch to hybrid electric. Bell also made this move to try to stick to its goal of multi-city testing by 2020.

Electric Power systems is a wide team of consulting engineers with years of experience in design, construction, and periodic maintenance of electric power supply systems. By partnering with EPS, Bell hopes to create the most cost-efficient and reliable battery management system for the upcoming Bell Air Taxi. Said Scott Brennan, Bell’s Vice President of Innovation:

“This collaboration with EPS is intended to further enhance the safety and performance of our aircraft through unique power storage capabilities”

Bell’s Mockup of the Air Taxi’s Control Panel

“As we forge relationships with new teammates, we move one step closer to bringing viable urban air mobility to the everyday commuter.”-Scott Drennan, Bell Vice President of Innovation.

…

As a reminder, Bell is one of the partners for Uber Elevate on the UberAir project. Bell will also be working with Safran for the Air Taxi’s hybrid propulsion system, Garmin for autonomous vehicle management, and Thales for flight control system avionics.

Bell has yet remained somewhat secretive about its air taxi design. While many companies have released mockups and even flight demonstrations of their air taxi concepts, Bell has chosen only to show the interior of the aircraft, saying that for now it would like to keep its propulsion design to itself. However, the air taxi interior shows a very futuristic design featuring augmented reality and a control panel completely made up of screens. Read more about the Bell Air Taxi.

A visual from the VR demonstration of Bell’s Air Taxi experience

Why it’s important: Although Uber Elevate has announced Bell as one of its contractors for UberAir, it will also work with Karem Aircraft, Boeing’s Aurora Flight Sciences, Embraer, and Pipistrel Aircraft. According to Elevate’s website, Uber will work with all of these companies to develop its own (initially piloted) aircraft. It’s still a little unclear how all these companies are working with Uber, but the fact that Bell has consistently been adding more and more partners may suggest that it will be the main producer of UberAir VTOLs. Regardless, Uber is aiming for a strict 2023 operations launch, and will begin flight testing in 2020.

The Terrafugia TF-2 Concept Video

06 November 2018 || 4 min read

The Terrafugia TF-2 is a unique concept transportation solution featuring a passenger pod or cargo pod that switches between road and air transport. In the air, the Terrafugia TF-2 is a large hybrid-electric VTOL with a fixed wing, and capacity of up to four passengers or 1400lbs of cargo. On the ground, it looks surprisingly similar to a futuristic city...

The Terrafugia TF-2 Concept Video

06 November 2018 || 4 min read

The Terrafugia TF-2 is a unique concept transportation solution featuring a passenger pod or cargo pod that switches between road and air transport.

In the air, the Terrafugia TF-2 is a large hybrid-electric VTOL with a fixed wing, and capacity of up to four passengers or 1400lbs of cargo. On the ground, it looks surprisingly similar to a futuristic city bus.

Terrafugia describes the TF-2 as: “a three part transportation system consisting of a passenger or cargo cabin that is transported by an air vehicle and a road vehicle. The system is therefore able to take you almost anywhere, from origin to final destination.”

The T-F2 video has gained about 1,500 new views since Terrafugia reposted the video on Youtube October 19th. According to Terrafugia, the TF-2 will have a maximum range of 185 miles, and a top speed of about 150mph.

Terrafugia has been developing its Transition flying car for over a decade. The Transition’s wings fold to become as flush as possible with the body when the car is on the ground, and unfold for flight. Based in New England, Terrafugia was purchased by Volvo’s Chinese parent company, Geely, in 2017. Terrafugia has already begun taking orders for the Transition, which is priced around $300,000

Terrafugia’s ‘Transition’ Flying Car

The Terrafugia TF-2 design is one of only two major modular designs on the market. The other is Airbus’s Pop.Up, which is a similar but smaller version of the TF-2 design. While the TF-2 may be the future option for high capacity modular VTOL systems, the AirPop.Up design is more versatile due its smaller size and so might be better utilized for dense urban environments.

Terrafugia TF-2 Competitor Airbus Pop.Up

Airbus’s Pop.Up Next design

Airbus has also began prototyping and flight testing the ‘Airbus Vahana’, an eVTOL that has a fixed wing but no ground transportation mode. It’s still unclear whether airbus will follow through with the Pop.Up next, the Vahana, or both.

Terrafugia is also working on development of the Terrafugia TF-X, although it now only features the TF-2 and the Transition in the main features of its website, suggesting that it will focus on the TF-2 moving forward. The TF-X is a personal VTOL capable of driving on city streets with a proposed range of 500 miles.

Terrafugia’s TF-X design

Why it’s important: The development of the Terrafugia TF-2 futher proves the coming segmentation of the future VTOL market. While the Airbus Pop.Up design will work for more confined spaces and is likely to be used for short range trips across congested cities, the TF-2’s fixed wing makes it more efficient, allowing it to carry multiple passengers for greater distances.

Former Airbus CTO Jean Botti Is Developing A New Electric Airplane

05 November 2018 || 4 min read

Jean Botti, former CTO of Airbus Group, joined the TransportUP podcast last week detail his journey founding VoltAero, a company that is developing a general aviation-sized hybrid electric airplane capable of flights up to 3.5 hours. According to Botti, the vision of his company is to provide alternatives to Cessna or Cirrus aircraft. Those companies offer similar sized general aviation...

Former Airbus CTO Jean Botti Is Developing A New Electric Airplane

05 November 2018 || 4 min read

According to Botti, the vision of his company is to provide alternatives to Cessna or Cirrus aircraft. Those companies offer similar sized general aviation aircraft, but do not design or manufactur electric or hybrid electric versions. The main competitive features of the aircraft, slated to be named “Cassio” are safety, low noise, and fuel efficiency.

Take off and landing will be run completely on electrical power. The plane will only use its traditional thermal engine as a generator to create supplemental electricity during cruise. The generator will also run as a back up in case of an emergency situation during take-off or landing.

In 2015, Botti led Airbus’s E-Fan project, a fully electric lightweight airplane which successfully flew for 47 consecutive minutes over the english channel. However, when Botti left Airbus to found VoltAero in early 2018, he decided to make a dual-energy airplane to create the safest aircraft possible.

The eventual goal of VoltAero is to create a suite of 4-9 seat aircraft that can be used by private owners, air taxi/charter companies, commercial flights for point-to-point regional travel, and for use in other utility-category applications. At full scale, VoltAero expects to manufacture 150 of the new aircraft per year.

Deliveries of production aircraft are expected to begin during the 2021-2022 timeframe from VoltAero’s final assembly facility in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of southwest France.

Voltaero team Jean Botti and Didier Esteyne posing with the Airbus E-FAN

Jean Botti and Co-founder Didier Esteyne

You can learn more from Jean Botti in our recent podcast!

Why it’s Important: VoltAero is on the forefront of electric power for general aviation aircraft. While the Cassio does need a thermal engine as a generator, it can be fully electric once battery technology enables higher energy storage. Advancements for this kind of electric flight tech mean huge steps for the Urban Aviation industry. Better tech as is being developed by VoltAero is going to be highly desired by every urban air taxi operator looking for higher ranges and safety options.

DARPA Tests Semi-Autonomous Sikorsky Helicopter

02 November 2018 || 3 min read

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently flight-demonstrated a modified Sikorsky S-76B helicopter with impressive semi-autonomous capabilities. The ALIAS system, which stands for Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System, made its first manned flight on October 17th 2018. This flight was named as ‘optionally manned’, indicating the potential for full autonomy of the modified Sikorsky-76B. The goal of the ALIAS...

DARPA Tests Semi-Autonomous Sikorsky Helicopter

02 November 2018 || 3 min read

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently flight-demonstrated a modified Sikorsky S-76B helicopter with impressive semi-autonomous capabilities.

The ALIAS system, which stands for Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System, made its first manned flight on October 17th 2018. This flight was named as ‘optionally manned’, indicating the potential for full autonomy of the modified Sikorsky-76B.

The goal of the ALIAS System is to reduce the workload on pilots and provide a failsafe in case of an emergency. With the new Matrix Technology installed, pilots can program missions using a hand-held tablet computer. During the recent flight, the Autonomy Research Aircraft showcased its ability to take-off and land completely autonomously, fly while avoiding obstacles, and automatically determine safe landing zones.

“The reason this type of technology is important, is to reduce workload, the piloting workload and let the mission crews concentrate on what they’re really there to do, which is to either execute the MEDEVAC [medical evacuation], the close air support mission, or whatever they’re there to do,”–Dave Braden, Program Manager for the U.S. Marine Corps’ portion of the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program.

Unmanned testing of the aircraft this October came four years after DARPA began work on the project in 2014 in collaboration with Aurora Flight Sciences. Aurora’s solution to a computerized co-pilot placed a mechanical arm in the cockpit that could be retro-fitted to any aircraft.

Aurora Flight Sciences ultimately left the DARPA project to join Boeing on building it’s upcoming passenger air taxi. The Boeing/Aurora team is now one of the main partners working with Uber Elevate to begin flight testing it’s vehicles in major cities like LA and Dallas by 2020. CEO of Boeing Dennis Muilenberg claims that Boeing’s air taxi prototype should be in the air the next year. Read more news about the latest Boeing passenger VTOL updates.

Why it’s important: Although Sikorsky’s recent test is military rather than commercial, it proves the viability of autonomous aircraft. Often throughout history, technology has been developed and used by the military before being accepted and integrated into public use. Such was the case with a great deal of the technology we see in today’s commercial airlines. Ultimately, progress in military VTOL autonomy is likely to mean progress for on-demand urban air mobility aircraft as well.

XTI Aircraft Sells to Brazil’s Largest Private Jet Charter Company

01 November 2018 || 4 min read

On October 17th, XTI Aircraft announced the sale of one of its TriFan 600 aircraft to Sáo Paulo’s Icon Aviation. Icon Aviation is the largest business aircraft operator in South America. Its fleet consists of 30 private jets, as well as a range of helicopters. The order from Icon also comes with options for Icon to purchase an undisclosed number...

XTI Aircraft Sells to Brazil’s Largest Private Jet Charter Company

01 November 2018 || 4 min read

On October 17th, XTI Aircraft announced the sale of one of its TriFan 600 aircraft to Sáo Paulo’s Icon Aviation.

Icon Aviation is the largest business aircraft operator in South America. Its fleet consists of 30 private jets, as well as a range of helicopters. The order from Icon also comes with options for Icon to purchase an undisclosed number of additional aircraft.

Icon Aviation’s luxury air travel services

The order from Icon is XTI’s 64th pre-sale of the TriFan 600. This represents a total of about $416 million in gross revenues upon delivery.

The XTI TriFan 600 was built with the vision of creating a luxury private jet that could provide the same vertical take-off and landing benefits as a helicopter. Unlike many shorter range eVTOLs, the hybrid electric system in the TriFan gives it a top speed of 345mph with a range of 1,200 miles. The TriFan’s rotating fans allow it to land anywhere, and help it reach a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet in just ten minutes. Learn more about the TriFan 600.

Icon Aviation and XTI plan on partnering for the marketing and sales of the TriFan 600, with the twin goals of promoting the TriFan and expanding the business of Icon. Says Icon CEO Décio Galvão: “Icon and XTI have established a long-term relationship to collaborate on joint expansion of our respective businesses.”

Galvão hopes that the addition of the TriFan 600 will set Icon at the forefront of the growing luxury air travel industry. In the announcement of the sale, he mentioned his vision to incorporate the TriFan into the Icon fleet as soon as XTI begins deliveries.

“We’re very pleased to be working with Icon,” said Robert LaBelle, Chief Executive Officer of XTI. “Icon is a recognized business aviation company leader in Brazil and throughout South America, and is an ideal partner and customer for the TriFan aircraft.

XTI has received increasing buyer interest in the TriFan 600 since it began its prototype program at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) trade show in Las Vegas last year. According to the company, tests of a 60% scale prototype should begin next month.

Why it’s important: The many pre-sales of the XTI TriFan prove the value proposition of vertical take-off and landing aircraft that can land anywhere. Moreover, the TriFan 600 shows that the future market for VTOLs will be multi-segmented. While the TriFan 600 represents the luxury/long distance side of the market, other companies like Lillium represent the more public side. As streets become more and more crowded and flight technologies become more and more advanced, the demand for personal VTOLs will inevitably grow.

A Look at Carter Aviation’s New Electric Air Taxi Design

01 November 2018 || 3 min read

Carter Aviation is a Texas-based firm that develops “Slow Rotor/Compound technology (SR/C™)” for vertical take off and landing aircraft that combines with the efficiency of a fixed-wing airplane with the vertical take-off ability of a helicopter. Carter debuted its first VTOL prototype in 1998. Now, it has released concept images of its newest eVTOL design in line with Uber Elevate’s...

A Look at Carter Aviation’s New Electric Air Taxi Design

01 November 2018 || 3 min read

Carter debuted its first VTOL prototype in 1998. Now, it has released concept images of its newest eVTOL design in line with Uber Elevate’s specifications for future air taxis.

Carter Aviation’s newest Air Taxi eVTOL concept

Carter Aviation’s design is unique in that it is one of the only fixed wing eVTOLs to feature a single lift rotor rather than distributed electric propulsion (IDEP). It does not directly address why it has made the single rotor design choice as opposed to IDEP but does note the “unparalleled safety of a high inertia rotor”.

It’s notable that the company first began prototyping as far back as 1998, and prides itself mainly on its’ SR/C™ technology which it claims has a higher speed, cruise efficiency, and safety than other similar aircraft.

Carter’s 1998 “Carter Copter” VTOL Prototype

The single-rotor design is particularly significant as one of the reasons for special for certification requirements in Europe is that many of the new aircraft concepts such as the Vertical Aerospace eVTOL use a “distributed lift/thrust units to generate powered lift and control”.

Carter’s ‘Electric Air Taxi’ design features a 5 passenger capacity, a 175 mph cruise speed, and a battery range of 60 miles. These specifications are built to Uber Elevate requirements. It’s slowly turning rotor, a design edge unique to Carter, make it much quieter than traditional helicopters, and can act as a built-in parachute. The vehicle cruises between 1,000ft to 2,000ft and re-charge in 5 minutes.

Carter Aviation's Electric Air Taxi Blueprint Breakdown

A blueprint of the most important features of Carter’s air taxi

Why it’s import: Companies everywhere are gearing up to partner with Uber for future on-demand air mobility. Carter Aviation is a long-time expert in combining fixed wing and vertical lift technologies, and may an aircraft we one day see in operation with Uber. While Uber has selected certain companies to work with including Karem Aircraft, Boeing’s Aurora Flight Sciences, and Bell, and has developed its own models of potential aircraft, it may eventually take on other partners as well, or, as it needs more and more aircraft, outsource to companies like Carter.

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“Estimated by some analysts at $3 trillion, the urban aerial mobility opportunity will lead to the creation of the largest new market in our lifetimes.”

“By offering scalable and robust capabilities in a single, integrated framework, SkyGrid will make large-scale air vehicle applications more practical and accessible.”

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They’re Great for Cars, But Not so Much Urban Aviation

The Current State of Battery Technology

Just 3% in Energy Density Increase Per Year.

Similar Industries: Tesla & Trucks

The Drone Industry

The UAM Industry

Roadblocks

Advantages

In Conclusion

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