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Volocopter announced on July 16th that Dr. Arnaud Coville will take over the role of Chief Technical Officer from Jan-Hendrik Boelens. Dr. Coville joined the company as Head of VoloCity Development in May 2020, and brings with him expertise in technical leadership and aircraft design from past larger transport category aircraft and rotorcraft programs alike.

Volocopter’s VoloCity concept. Image // Volocopter

“Electrically powered air taxis will change aviation as we know it. Together with the talented team of experts here at Volocopter, we will bring the very first air taxi for safe urban travel to the market,” says Arnaud Coville, CTO Volocopter.

Arnaud Coville studied engineering and has a PhD in automatic control and robotics. His aerospace experience spans almost three decades. Volocopter stated in a press release that he assisted with development of aircraft from the Airbus Helicopters H135 to regional jets like the CRJ-700, through large aircraft like the A350 and A380. In these roles, Dr. Coville worked for companies including Safran, Fairchild Dornier, Diehl Avionik and Airbus Helicopter.

Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter stated “Jan-Hendrik has done tremendous work for Volocopter. For the past three years, he has led the VoloCity development and helped us reach defining milestones, including conducting several public flights and receiving Design Organisation Approval by EASA. It was under his leadership we brought our product this far, grew an exceptional team and helped set the Company up for success. Now we look forward to build upon this legacy and continue our journey with Arnaud Coville.”

Why it’s important: Volocopter aims to continue their technological development push through to small scale deployment of on-demand aerial mobility services. Accordingly, tapping Dr. Coville as a talent leader for Technology at Volocopter will allow the company to leverage his expertise working larger scale aircraft certification programs, presumably increasing the ease with which Volocopter will be able to see their aircraft through flight testing and certification under the purview of multiple regulatory agencies.

Source // Volocopter Press Release

Honeywell, a leader in the aerospace industry for avionics, has now created a dedicated business unit within its company specifically for drones and aerial mobility technology. As well as providing flight electronics, Honeywell is also developing important offerings relating to unmanned aerial systems as a whole.

The ‘aerial mobility and unmanned aerial systems’ business unit will have its own set of company resources, including engineerings and sales teams. Honeywell sees the new business unit as necessary, having valued the aerial mobility hardware and software industry at $120 billion by 2030. The company believes that with the creation of the new business unit this early, it could capture 20% of that valuation.

An example of what kind of software/hardware systems Honeywell is already starting to make for aerial mobility vehicles.

Said Mike Madsen, president and CEO of Honeywell Aerospace: “Urban Air Mobility and Unmanned Aerial Systems will play an increasing role in the future of aerospace, with potential applications in all-electric urban air taxi vehicles, hybrid-electric unmanned cargo drones, optionally piloted airplanes, delivery drones and everything in between.”

According to the company, Honeywell UAM will “develop new products and services uniquely for these markets” and act as a systems integrator for existing Honeywell products and services that could be used by the UAS and UAM industries. Offerings will include avionics, electric and hybrid-electric propulsion and thermal management, flight services and ground operations services.

A compact urban aerial mobility fly-by-wire system developed by Honeywell

Since entering the aerial mobility space, Honeywell has made vast progress already into creating offerings for new upcoming vehicles and companies. In the last year, Honeywell has announced projects for eVTOL cooling systems, visual flight control hardware, autonomous landing, air taxi fly-by-wire packages, and even electric engines designed specifically for aerial mobility. It has also established partnerships with several key aircraft developers including Pipistrel, Vertical Aerospace, Volocopter, and Eviation.

Learn more about the new aerial mobility business unit at Honeywell’s website:

Why it’s important: With the establishment of this aerial mobility business unit, Honeywell further reaches its arms into the future of urban aviation. By partnering with and contributing to early-stage air taxi companies now, as well as building key initial technologies, Honeywell has begun to ensure its place in the future of aerial mobility. So far, it has already done much to contribute large-company resources to this growing industry.

The creation of a regional air mobility ecosystem for VoltAero’s new Cassio hybrid-electric airplane has taken an important step forward through the French company’s collaboration with U.S.-based KinectAir, which is developing a flexible on-demand flight network utilizing an artificial intelligence-enabled smartphone application.

Artist rendering of VoltAero’s Cassio prototype which could be operated by KinectAir as soon as 2022.

This cooperation foresees Cassio aircraft integrated with KinectAir’s short-haul infrastructure, applying artificial intelligence to balance passenger demand with air transport availability. KinectAir’s software platform will interface directly with Cassio’s “intelligent cockpit.”

“The KinectAir collaboration opens exciting opportunities, combining the full benefit of our Cassio aircraft’s low-noise, environmentally-friendly flights with an app that offers an accessible, affordable, sustainable and safe way to travel regionally by air,” explained Jean Botti, VoltAero’s CEO and Chief Technology Officer.

Botti added that ensuring regional air service is more important today than ever, especially when economically-challenged airlines around the world are abandoning shorter routes – threatening air links that serve as vital lifelines to thousands of communities.

VoltAero is developing a family of airplanes that use the company’s proprietary hybrid-electric power module. Featuring a sleek, aerodynamically optimized design, Cassio will fly at 200 knot-cruise speeds (360 kilometers per hour) out to flight ranges of 800 miles (1,300 kilometers). Available in three versions with four to 10 seats, the aircraft are designed to take off and land in distances of less than 1,800 feet (550 meters), thereby opening the use of runways typically available at local and regional airports.

Cassio deliveries will begin in late 2022. The aircraft will be produced on a purpose-built final assembly line in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of southwest France, with licensed production opportunities pursued in North America and Asia.

KinectAir’s regional air mobility smartphone app will allow users to order a flight directly from their nearest airfield. Utilizing its fleet of leased and fractionally-owned aircraft, KinectAir’s artificial intelligence engine then balances supply and demand for air travel, giving passengers control over their choices – both economically and environmentally.

“With Cassio aircraft in our fleet, it completes the KinectAir vision for democratizing personal air mobility. Being mindful and intentional about the need for connectivity, and the ability to fly sustainably, is in our company DNA,” said Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Evans. “We will be able to offer a clean, quiet, and intelligent regional air service to move people to where they need to be. Partnering with VoltAero during Cassio’s development also allows our software platform’s functionality to be integrated directly into the aircraft’s ‘intelligent cockpit,’ which will enable a two-way interface for the rapid exchange of intelligence between the network and the aircraft as a node.”

Evans added that having a deeply integrated partnership with VoltAero from the start takes full advantage of KinectAir’s platform in coordinating the customer experience, aircraft maintenance, pilot scheduling and virtual assistance, along with route planning/dispatch and operational availability.

Why it matters: VoltAero’s partnership with KinectAir is one of the first of its kind in the aerial mobility space. Partnering with a company with expertise in customer service, aircraft maintenance, and route planning/dispatch shows VoltAero is not only interested in manufacturing eVTOL vehicles, but handling the operations too. This new ecosystem of manufacturer-operator business model could disrupt the aerospace industry and its degree of horizontal integration could open opportunities for incredible profitability.

Source: VoltAero Press Release

Skydio, an autonomous drone technology company, announced in a Medium article on Monday the reveal of its new drone platform for the private and public sectors, Skydio X2. Additionally, the company also outlined how the Skydio Autonomy Enterprise Foundation, Skydio 3D Scan, and Skydio House Scan tools can increase situational awareness and aid with inspections.

The biggest reported advantage of the new flight control methodology is the increased reliability and repeatability of drone flights via autonomous methods. Said Adam Bri, Skydio CEO “Manual drones lack the software intelligence that enterprises need to scale their programs. Skydio’s goal is to unlock the value of drones by creating a radically simple user experience through the power of true autonomy.”

A rendering of the discretization of flight path objections used in Skydio’s Autonomous flight path control algorithms. Image // Skydio

The core IP is called Skydio Autonomy the “AI-powered brain built into every Skydio drone” The technology “creates a 3D understanding of the drone’s surroundings in real-time and predicts into the future to make intelligent decisions” and allows Skydio drones to fly themselves with the skills of an expert pilot. It can also serve as an expert copilot, turning anyone into a skilled operator, while Skydio Autonomy dynamically controls the drone’s navigation to avoid obstacles even in GPS-denied environments.

The technology has already been tested in the field as well. Skydio shared that the Civil Air Patrol, Ohio Department of Transportation, North Carolina Department of Transportation, Southern Company, Chula Vista PD, and Japan Infrastructure Waymark, among others, have already employed its use. Along with the advanced 3 dimensional mapping tech, Skydio also highlighted their industrial scanning and hardware upgrades that accompany the X2 initiative. While the hardware and industrial scanning advances are noteworthy, the IP of flight path recognition and adjustment lays the very foundation of algorithms that the next generation of aerial mobility aircraft will rely on during autonomous or partially autonomous operations – allowing planned flight paths to morph as required to safely transport passengers from point A to point B.

These announcements come in concert with the company’s other release from today, disclosing the $100 Million close of Series C funding, led by Next47 with participation from Levitate Capital, NTT DOCOMO Ventures, and existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, IVP, and Playground. The Series C close brings the company’s total funding to $170 million

Why it’s important: Skydio has charged full speed ahead into the consumer drone market, but has also made concerted efforts to cater to both commercial and private drone operators, while maintaining a high level of focus on development of key enabling technologies that will allow for future aerial mobility advances in the coming years. While the application of Skydio’ Autonomous flight path technology is relegated to drones at the moment, it’s not too large of a leap to imagine that same scheme being used for aerial mobility.

Read the full articles on Skydio’s X2 Autonomous Drones and Series C Funding on Medium.

Source // Skydio Press Releases

One year after revealing their innovative design for the first fully hydrogen powered VTOL aircraft, Alaka’i Technologies has come out with some revisions into their development of the Skai. The Skai gained much acclaim with the announcement that it would use liquid hydrogen as opposed to electric or conventional. An initial design was proposed by Alaka’i back in June 2019, and in short, the Skai was planned to feature a range of 400 miles (644 km) and a flight time of 4 hours using a simple 6 rotor multicopter design. According to CTO Brian Morrison, this simplicity in design was the key advantage of the Skai’s design: less complexity in design would mean both less maintenance and quicker certification.

The Alaka’i Skai Photograph: Alaka’i Technologies

A year in, Alaka’i has slightly shifted their milestones for the Skai. The original Skai design revealed last year has progressed to the tethered flight stage, and currently Alaka’i is working on a refined prototype design based off of the first one. So far, all testing has been done with an automated piloting system. Manned flight is expected to be begun in early 2021, but according to Alaka’i CEO Steve Hanvey, it could take longer: “Right now, we’re capable of flying it from the ground. In fact at this point I’m flying it about 50 feet away from the aircraft. Very quiet, very little air wash compared to a traditional helicopter. I’m flying it with my thumbs like you’d fly a drone. In the software, it’s capable of taking off and hovering by itself, but we prefer to have physical control.”

Photograph: Alaka’i Technologies

As for Alaka’i’s certification process, the Skai is currently two years into the FAA’s certification process, which is expected to take five years. Additionally, Alaka’i has an experimental ticket application ready once the Skai is able to fly off tethers and with a pilot. The process will take time before its finished, but Hanvey remains confident. “I’ve been certifying aircraft since 1980,” he says. “Military programs, helicopters, fixed wings, small and large, Our whole team brings experience from the aerospace business around what it takes to get an aircraft successfully certified, and what does it take to support it.”

The initial design for the Skai was ambitious, but still not impossible. “I think some of the statements made previously were perhaps overly ambitious, made in the excitement of the moment,” says Skai’s Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Bruce Gunter, “But that’s what happens when you’re pushing the envelope in that respect. We’re working hard to get there.”

Photograph: Alaka’i Technologies

Why it’s important: The Skai’s main draw comes from the innovative usage of liquid hydrogen, a choice that allows the Skai to both outpace competitors in terms of speed, range, and maintenance. With a much higher energy density than lithium batteries, liquid hydrogen offers genuine long-range flight capabilities, as well as fast refuelling. Used in a fuel cell electric powertrain, its only local emissions are water, and there are a growing number of ways to produce it in a completely green and sustainable fashion, some of which are beginning to become cost-competitive with jet fuel, giving the Skai high potential to become one of the driving forces of the aerial mobility industry.

Source // New Atlas

The New South Wales government has awarded startup AMSL Aero a grant of $950,000 from the State Government’s Regional Investment Attraction Fund. The grant will enable construction of a testing facility at Narromine’s Aerodrome, where the company will conduct developmental test flights and, later, certification flight testing, with a goal of achieving certification at the end of 2023.

(pictured left to right) NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro with AMSL Aero co-founders Siobhan Lyndon and Andrew Moore and a model of their electric aircraft. Photograph: Salty Dingo

AMSL Aero is currently in the process of developing their own flying car for use in the NSW transport industry, with AMSL Aero co-founder and CEO Andrew Moore quoted as to saying “We are excited by the opportunity to use this grant to help us prepare for our upcoming launch and build essential testing facilities”. 

AMSL Aero’s project flying car, having been in development for a few years, has been described as primarily an electric fixed-wing aircraft in terms of power efficiency and speed, but with the takeoff and lift capabilities of a VTOL aircraft. While details on the aircraft have not been publicly released at this stage, Moore confirmed that the company’s aim was to produce a zero emissions aircraft that provides a new method of transport to connect regional and urban communities without a carbon footprint. The aircraft is also confirmed to have a passenger capacity of at least 4 people and a pilot, and a tentative range of a trip between Sydney and Canberra, or about 286 km (178 miles). AMSL Aero also expressed an interest in extending that range to that of a trip between Sydney and Melbourne, or about 877 km (545 miles). 

AMSL Aero co-founder and CEO Andrew Moore (left) pictured with a flight-capable scaled model of the aircraft. Photograph: AMSL Aero

Other features that AMSL Aero is interested in eventually integrating into their aircraft includes a hydrogen fuel cell power source and complete automation. A prototype is expected to be publicly released by the end of 2020. 

“We’ve targeted an extremely efficient design that will lead to a more affordable and environmentally friendly transport option,” says Moore.

The electric aircraft in flight. Photograph: AMSL Aero

Why it’s important: New South Wales becomes one of the latest governments to buy in to the aerial mobility industry, with Deputy Premier John Barilaro quoted as saying: “The potential benefits this technology can deliver will overcome the tyranny of distance that we face in regional NSW. It means people can easily travel to jobs, visit friends and family in remote locations and deliver tourists to hard-to-reach outback havens”. Encapsulating the importance of this move by the NSW government, he goes on to say, “It sounds like science fiction but the reality is a future where this is possible, practical and affordable is not that far away and I am proud that our investment attraction grant will help the development of this new technology and support jobs in regional NSW.”

Source // The Guardian

Pipistrel has obtained a type-certification for E-811 as the world’s first electric engine certified for use in general aviation. The engine, fully certified by European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), is now also available to other aircraft designers and manufacturers globally.

The E-811 engine combines a liquid-cooled electric motor and a liquid-cooled power controller. Offering 57.6 kW (77 HP) of peak power, and 49.2 kW (66 HP) of maximum continuous power, the E-811 is the ideal powerplant for powered sailplanes, UL, LSA and VLA aircraft, where a type-certified engine is required. It may also be installed on Part-23 Level 1 aircraft and other distributed propulsion applications by applying the corresponding special conditions.

Computer drawing of the Pipistrel E-811 electric motor, available to customers through its EASA type certificate.

The E-811 is extremely flexible: the motor’s rotation direction is not factory selected and can be easily adapted to any given application as part of the installation and supports a wide variety of propellers.

The propulsion motor is a state-of-the-art axial flux synchronous permanent magnet electric motor. Lighter and more compact, these motors are also more powerful than radial flux motors, making them ideal for their application in aviation. The engine is entirely liquid-cooled through a single cooling circuit with a mixture of 50% water and 50% glycol. The cooling system is part of the installation and can be provided by Pipistrel.

Now all the other aircraft OEMs can also enjoy the benefits of a type-certified electric engine or boost the development process of their powered sailplanes, UL, LSA, VLA or Part-23 Level-1 aircraft!

E-811 is integrated on Pipistrel’s Velis Electro vehicle prototype.

Why it matters: Pipistrel’s type certification of its electric engine offers an interesting business opportunity. By offering the engine to other OEMs, competitors have the option to reduce their R&D expenses in bringing new aircraft programs to market. Additionally, this business venture offers Pipistrel with additional revenue streams if sales of their Velis Electro vehicle are lackluster. This move also makes Pipistrel the first OEM in aerial mobility to offer its engineered components for sale.

Source: Pipistrel Press Release

Hanwha Systems CEO Kim Yeon-chul signed a memorandum of understanding on July 3rd in Seoul with Korea Airports Corporation President Son Chang-wan to partner on the development of UAM enabling technologies, including passenger boarding services, end-to-end integration, infrastructure planning, and airspace development tailored specifically for the commercial deployment of on-demand aerial mobility services.

Hanwha Systems UAM Conceptualization. Image // Hanwha Systems

Hanwha Systems previously established themselves within the aerial mobility sphere last year after investing substantially in Overair, a spinoff of the Uber Elevate Partnering Karem Aircraft company. Korea Airports Corporation intends to bring the construction and architectural experience commensurate with the firms’ management of 14 airports in South Korea. They also manage the Korea Civil Aviation Training Center. The partnership is also opportune as the integration between last-mile trips and transfers from fixed wing aircraft can be streamlined as development efforts are undertaken by KAC.

The MoU represents the expansion of aerial mobility frameworks in Asia, as nearby countries such as China continue to advance the progress and breadth of aerial mobility offerings that will soon be available to the public on an on-demand basis.

Kim Yeon-chul is quoted at the press conference stating that Hanwha Systems is to become a “global UAM solutions provider” by the year 2025.

Why it’s important: Hanwha and KAC represent a powerful partnership that allows for considerable experience to be leveraged from both air frame development and infrastructure know-how fields. Additionally, this MoU limits the exposure of each company within the aerial mobility industry and will allow for a more seamless integration of aerial mobility flight paths and vertiports at Korean airports already under management by KAC. Additionally, Hanwha System’s previous investments in UAM airframe design and development companies has allowed them to gain experience while limiting the large capital expenditures required to stand up a company from scratch.

Source // Business Korea, Korea IT Times, Hanwha Systems Press Release

Crown Consulting‘s vision of the future aerial mobility market

In 2018, NASA selected Crown Consulting to aid in understanding the potential barriers to creating the aerial mobility industry. After creating that study, Crown is now extending its analysis by partnering with QSS (Quantitative Scientific Solutions) to understand how eVTOL ride quality might affect community acceptance. While Crown Consulting will facilitate the analysis, QSS will assist in collecting the and assembling the relevant data.

According to QSS and Crown Consulting, past work has related passenger comfort to noise and vibration, but no measure has yet been developed relating acceptance to the combination of noise, vibration, and vehicle motion. Since eVTOLs will certainly have different motion dynamics from helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, QSS and Crown consider these motion dynamics a key variable in determining the probability of community acceptance. Research and data collection will focus gaining an understanding of how future passengers may react to new motion dynamics.

QSS is a scientific and technical consulting and analytics firm based in Arlington, VA. Its mission is to provide creative solutions to the most challenging scientific problems through hard data, and it utilizes the most advanced technologies available to conduct analysis.

Crown Consulting’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Tom Edwards, commented, “This work will enable resolution of a major barrier to successful implementation of UAM.” Crown considers itself an expert in providing data and analytics to both private and government organizations. Read the full study so far provided by Crown Consulting to NASA here.

Why it’s important: With the advanced data collection and analysis technologies now available through companies like QSS, it has become possible to create deep understandings of how new innovations in air travel might affect people in the near future. Through partnering with QSS, Crown Consulting will be able to understand with a fair degree of certainty how people will react to eVTOLs’ new motion dynamics before aircraft even enter the flight testing stages or manufacturing stages. This information can help drive both vehicle designs and government regulations.

Ascent Urban Air Mobility, a new aerial mobility company, has announced that it will commence services in Thailand by the end of this year. Although Ascent currently uses traditional helicopters, its aerial mobility business model follows those that will soon come with advanced electric VTOLS. Ascent first launched in the Philippines around May of 2019.

Ascent Founders Darren Tng and Lionel Sinai-Sinelnikoff

Although charter helicopters have existed in Thailand (mainly for tourism), Ascent’s offering will now serve transportation needs between major activity centers such as Bangkok, Chonburi, and Rayong, and leisure destinations such as Hua Hin or Pattaya. Unlike any other helicopter service in the area, Ascent offers by-the-seat booking through a smartphone app. Ascent’s mission is to enable busy customers to skip traffic and reach remote destinations with ease and now (with the advent of COVID-19) minimized physical contact. By serving these hubs, Ascent aims at contributing to the growth of businesses and the economy in line with the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Thailand 4.0, and Smart City initiatives. Seat prices will start at about the equivalent of $250 USD.

Passengers on board an Ascent Urban Air Mobility Aircraft. Each seat will start at $250 per ticket.

Lionel Sinai-Sinelnikoff, one of the founders of Ascent, said, “The dynamism of Bangkok combined with this new context (COVID-19), makes mobility a great challenge for the business community, commuters, and tourists. This in turn effects the economy, the environment, and people’s well-being. In addition, public economic initiatives like the EEC require enhanced mobility solutions. With Ascent, we believe we can elevate mobility to the skies to better connect locations and skip traffic seamlessly in a safe and more affordable manner. We are excited to open this new chapter of Ascent with partners such as Advance Aviation and SFS Aviation, which have driven the industry in Thailand for so long and will ensure our users with the highest operational and safety standards.”

Part of the Ascent Urban Air Mobility team

Why it’s import: Although other urban air mobility companies based in the U.S use a similar business model to Ascent (such as BLADE Urban Air Mobility and Uber Copter), Ascent’s launch in Thailand will make the country one of Asia’s first to host aerial mobility services. Ascent’s customer sourcing and management as well as fleet management softwares will likely plug into more advanced electric aircraft once they become available.