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Vertical lift Health Usage and Monitoring System (HUMS) creator GPMS announced the closure of their Series A funding round last week with DiamondStream Partners, the lead investor in the round. The closure of Series A funding aims to continue the development and application of GPMS’ Foresight MX tool, which is a predictive maintenance management dashboard and hardware suite intended for application in vertical lift and aerial mobility sectors.

GPMS was founded by Dr. Eric Bechhoefer, an expert in machine condition monitoring. The Foresight MX tool’s predictive analytics help ensure safety, asset reliability and availability. President of GPMS, Jed Kalkstein, characterized how the funds from Series A would be applied to further market development: “We are excited to announce our Series A funding. GPMS has a market-leading solution for complex aircraft, vehicles and rotating equipment where there is a high cost or consequence of unplanned downtime. This funding will help us accelerate our progress in the rotorcraft market and expand to adjacent industries.”

GPMS Foresight MX’s User Interface. Image // GPMS

GPMS’ main value proposition is providing the first true integrated maintenance and aircraft system health monitoring capabilities for helicopters that can easily be installed, has a very light weight, and can actually predict when maintenance may be required, allowing operators to be proactive in their fleet management. Developed and field tested in collaboration with Duke Energy’s aviation department, GPMS holds FAA certifications that enable it to support new aircraft as well as the aftermarket where an estimated 80% of traditional light and medium rotorcraft remain unconnected. 

In a recent press release, GPMS stated that they offer Foresight both directly to operators and through OEM agreements with Bell Flight and others that are currently in stealth mode. 

Since GPMS’ Foresight MX system is a reported 90% lighter (some light monitoring hardware packages weigh less than 10 pounds) and 7X more accurate than traditional monitoring systems, Foresight MX is well-suited for aerial mobility use, where weight and operating efficiency are two key deterministic constraints for the ultimate viability and productivity of the industry. GPMS recently signed an agreement with eVTOL leader BETA Technologies and is in discussion with other market leaders for eVTOLs and drones as well. Company spokesman Andrew Swayze stated that GPMS is actively involved in the aerial mobility industry, and recognizes the future potential for increasing application of HUMS technology in the UAM space in the future.

Brian Flynn, Managing Director at DiamondStream Partners will join GPMS’ Board of Directors. Flynn specified his vision for the future of the partnership: “GPMS’s next generation hardware and software can provide tremendous benefits to safety, reliability, and operations in the current rotorcraft market. Beyond that, the technology underpinning Foresight MX has tremendous potential in other markets.”

Several other industry investors and figures joined the Series A round alongside DiamondStream Partners.

Why it’s important: GPMS’s Foresight MX dashboard and hardware are opportunities for existing vertical lift aircraft and new aerial mobility aircraft alike to capitalize on predictive fleet health monitoring. Since a large component of Foresight MX’s focus is predictive, vertical lift operators and aerial mobility operators would be well suited to employ the tool to realize the benefits of greater dispatch reliability and insights into lagging performance that could be corrected. If GPMS is able to integrate with airframes currently in design “from the ground up”, the ultimate performance of the OEM’s system would be even higher due to the tailor-made integration of aircraft and monitoring.

German eVTOL manufacturer Lilium is reportedly in talks with Qell Special Acquisition Corporation, according to persons involved closely to the matter. Closure of a potential deal that values Lilium at over $2 billion would be another instantiation in a series of announcements including BLADE UAM’s deal with EXPC, Archer (ACIC), and Joby (RTP), all assuming SPAC mergers in order to maximize available capital while massively cutting the risk involved.

While discussions are underway, there is no firm indication of deal proceedings advancing at this time, and if terms do not finalize the discussion could terminate with Lilium being approached by any other number of SPACs poised to make entry into the aerial mobility market.

TransportUP previously reported in February of 2021 on Lilium’s proposed Floridian operations network, an aerial mobility network that would be the result of a joint collaboration between Lilium and Ferrovial SA (construction counterpart) that includes design and build of 10 vertiports.

Qell is led by Barry Engle, a former GM executive. According to SEC filings, the SPAC raised $350 million in a September IPO. The fund stated that investment targets would include next-generation mobility, sustainable industrial technology, and enabling technologies that support development.

Another firm that is unspoken for within the eVTOL space currently is that of New Vista Acquisition Corp (NVSAU), which IPO’ed on February 17th with a $240 million raise slated for investment in the same fields as Qell, with the addition of artificial intelligence and other enabling technologies. Any proposed eVTOL acquisition target of New Vista would be pure speculation at this point, but companies like Lilium would fit the defined scope of the SPAC’s investment strategy. NVSAU Board Member Kirsten Bartouk Touw reported to evtol.com that the focus of the SPAC spans a wider scope than strictly eVTOL manufacturers, and includes companies that are ready to go public.

Why it’s important: 2021 has been a banner year for investment in aerial mobility. Billions of dollars of investment have poured into the industry over the past three months, and additional funds, SPACs, and private investors alike are poised to take advantage of the potential long-term growth and value propositions of aerial mobility as they stake financial commitments toward the industry which still carries a respectable quantity of risk. As further deals close, expect leaders among aerial mobility to more firmly cement their standing among the ranks of other eVTOL companies as they benefit from the increased amount of resources and financing.

LiquidPiston Inc., a company that develops advanced rotary internal combustion engines, has been awarded a Phase I STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) contract from the USAF’s Agility Prime initiative. The contract will award $150,000 USD to LiquidPiston, who will be adapting their next-gen rotary diesel engine, X-Engine, for use with a hybrid-electric propulsion system in the Air Force’s UAS and ORBs, a sub-classification of aerial mobility vehicles defined by the USAF as a vertical take-off and landing aircraft that features an electric power source and distributed electric propulsion, or an eVTOL.

“Our work with the Air Force demonstrates the versatility and utility of our X-Engine across the Department of Defense including our ongoing work with the US Army,” said Alec Shkolnik, CEO and co-founder of LiquidPiston. “Today’s solutions for power and energy are held back by a lack of technological innovation; gasoline engines are inefficient, diesel engines are big and heavy, and while the world wants to go electric, batteries lack significantly compared to the energy density of fuel. The X-Engine solves these challenges, and with this contract, we look forward to showcasing the value a hybrid-electric configuration can bring to unmanned flight.”

Photograph: LiquidPiston

LiquidPiston, Inc. focuses on development of compact, quiet, fuel efficient, low vibration, multi fuel capable combustion engines that are scalable from one horsepower to over 1,000. The company’s patented High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle (HEHC), an improved thermodynamic cycle, and unique engine architecture are the driving forces behind LiquidPiston’s highly optimized X-Engines.

The X-Engine is a lightweight rotary engine capable of running on JP-8, jet fuel, diesel and other heavy fuels. The X-Engine has only two primary moving parts – a shaft and rotor – resulting in compact size and low-vibration operation. The highly modular design of the engine along with its lightweight high-speed alternators allows for simple scalability and integration into electric vehicles. For comparison, the X-Engine is 30% more fuel efficient and 5-10 times lighter than a diesel engine, and 2-4 times more fuel efficient than a small turbine.

LiquidPiston’s X-Engine, coupled with a generator, will be configured to charge UAS and ORB battery technology and keep it charged during flight, greatly extending the overall range of a vehicle powered by an electric propulsion system.
Photograph: LiquidPiston

LiquidPiston’s X-Engine, coupled with a generator, will be configured to charge UAS and ORB battery technology and keep it charged during flight, markedly extending the overall range of a vehicle powered by an electric propulsion system. Alternatively, the X-Engine can also be configured in parallel with an electric drivetrain, producing thrust or lift directly. These capabilities allow the X-Engine to address one of the most major issues regarding electric vehicles, the limited energy density of current battery technology. With this hybrid approach, the USAF looks to improve the performance capabilities of their drones and ORBs.

Photograph: USAF

Why it’s important: One of the major issues facing aerial mobility aircraft (as well as other electric vehicles) is the limitations of current battery technology, which severely limits the travel range when compared to non-electric vehicles. One of the most prevalent solutions is to implement a hybrid approach, which greatly increases the range while keeping some of the benefits of electric propulsion. LiquidPiston’s contract with the USAF shows the USAF’s resolve to promote early working models of UAS and aerial mobility vehicles to accelerate the commercial industry.

Source // The Argus-Press

Aura’s Powercell is claimed to be 90% recyclable, and made primarily of aluminum foil and graphene, containing zero cobalt. Cobalt is used in almost all lithium batteries today to increase energy density and cycle life, but it is one of the most destructive metals to produce in terms of its human rights impact.

At the end of its lifespan, Cobalt can be melted down and recycled back into its base materials. Aura then uses those base materials to make their Powercells. In short, Aura’s supply chain is achieves sustainability by potentially using 100% post industrial and consumer waste in its battery production.

The Powercell is rated for 250,000 cycles, several orders of magnitude greater than high performance drone lithium-polymer (LiPo) and Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) batteries which are rated at approximately 200 and 1000 cycles, respectively.

Why it’s important: With 40 years of combined direct experience with electric VTOL systems, Aura’s founders have laid the pathway to extreme high energy, heavy lift electric VTOL applications. Delivering on industry needs at both a component and systems levels, Aura Aerospace is establishing a platform of safety, reliability and dependability in high power electric VTOL systems. Furthermore, the cycle life improvements of the Powercell over other batteries will significantly decrease battery replacement costs over the life of a product or vehicle, making it an appealing investment for eVTOL operators. Ongoing battery replacement can dramatically increase cost of ownership, as well as significantly impact environmental sustainability.

Denver, Colorado based Bye Aerospace has begun assembly of the fuselage of eFlyer serial number #001, marking the first assembly steps for the aircraft which has garnered 717 purchase order agreements to date for eFlyer, four-seat eFlyer 4, and other Bye Aerospace all-electric aircraft. The company announced in a press release on Monday, March 1st that the fuselage is being assembled in Warren, Oregon by Composites Universal Group (CUG). CUG will also assemble the Toray carbon composite wings for the production eFlyer 2 aircraft, which are both technically complex composite assemblies that likely reflect similar geometries and manufacturing processes that will be used for aerial mobility aircraft in the future.

Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2 during takeoff. Image // Bye Aerospace

CEO of Bye Aerospace, George Bye, stated that “We are closing several new agreements and expect to make additional market announcements very soon.” which would raise the number even higher than 717.

Also included in the Release was an update on Specific Certification Plans (SSCPs), most of which are near completion and are in final approval coordination with the FAA. “Even with the challenges presented to us by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, our team remains laser focused on collaboration efforts with the FAA on the eFlyer 2’s certification program,” Bye said.

In sorting through the nuance of managing supply chain sources and confirming partnerships with composite manufacturing firms poised to handle an increased rate of manufacturing of electric general aviation aircraft, Bye Aerospace foreshadows what a typical eVTOL supply chain and manufacturing infrastructure may ultimately look like. Paired with SSCP dialogues with the FAA, the design, manufacture, and certification of the eFlyer 2 series of aircraft will undoubtedly afford aerial mobility companies with the opportunity to examine the lessons learned from Bye’s production processes and apply those lessons to generate even more efficient production schema. Further, the sheer quantity of demand for Bye Aerospace’s eFlyer aircraft is indicative of the level of interest in new electric aircraft, whether they be for training, general aviation, or air taxi purposes. The willingness of flight training providers to adapt to these new aircraft will also allow for the realization of reduced emissions during operation, and lower operating costs per hour with simpler propulsion systems.

Why it’s important: Bye Aerospace’s current progress should serve as a building block upon which aerial mobility companies base their production plans. While the specific aircraft being produced will differ, the common features of this production ecosystem will closely mirror those of future eVTOL aircraft, and manufacturers that can already manage the unique requirements of composite production will likely in the future have growing waitlists once aerial mobility aircraft reach their final certification phases.

Falck has announced a collaboration with Silicon Valley’s Kitty Hawk, a company known for its advanced eVTOL aircraft. The emergency response and healthcare company partnered with Kitty Hawk to establish a joint innovation platform involving Project Heaviside, Kitty Hawk’s latest eVTOL aircraft, to be used in EMS operations. 

The partnership builds on Falck’s previous drone initiative, Vertical, which focuses on assessing the feasibility of drone technology in the prehospital and ambulance services of the future. Now with Project Heaviside, Falck aims to test and evaluate new technologies on a larger scale, making emergency healthcare more accessible and affordable. Project Heaviside is notable even among other eVTOL competitors for its noise level; the aircraft is exceptionally quiet while remaining fast and maneuverable. Project Heaviside has undergone 13 prototype designs and over 700 test flights since its launch. With this partnership, Kitty Hawk will also provide their engineering team with decades of experience in commercial aviation, aerospace, automotive engineering, flight testing, and industrial design.

Photograph: Kitty Hawk

“The agreement with Kitty Hawk takes us to the next level in our commitment to integrate eVTOL aircraft into our ambulance operations. Kitty Hawk brings the technology, while we at Falck contribute with our ambulance service area as a use case. This combination gives us the best conditions to investigate how we can jointly unleash the potential of new technology and develop the ambulance-borne health solutions which are likely to set the standard in the near future,” said Jakob Riis, CEO of Falck.

According to Sebastian Thrun, Co Founder and CEO of Kitty Hawk, “We are excited to be working with Falck to collaborate on bringing our Heaviside aircraft for emergency services, first in Denmark and then to other areas. Falck is an innovative leader in the area and this agreement marks a first and important step in making eVTOL available to more people.”

Falck expects to introduce Heaviside in a close collaboration with customers in Denmark and Europe, followed later on by those in the United States.

Photograph: Kitty Hawk

Why it’s important: This new partnership will integrate Kitty Hawk’s Heaviside into Falck’s Emergency Medical Services, which will give Heaviside an opportunity for real-world use, and help decrease Falck’s overall emergency response time. A successful application of the Heaviside within Falck’s program will help enable a successful commercial future for Heaviside, as well as eVTOL as a whole.  

Source // PR Newswire

Related: 

• Falck Initiates Manned Drone Paramedics Program
• Kitty Hawk Heaviside

Jaunt Air Mobility designs and manufactures hybrid and electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, and specializes in Reduced rotor Operating Speed aircraft (ROSA™), which combine a fixed-winged aircraft’s efficiency and advanced helicopter performance. The company has recently announced that it has been awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract by the US Air Force program AFWERX, via the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

Photograph: Jaunt Air Mobility

Under the contract Jaunt will team with Penn State University and Continuum Dynamics, Inc. (CDI) to employ advanced acoustical analysis techniques to characterize noise from Jaunt’s unique Jaunt Journey Compound Gyrodyne VTOL aircraft concept. This is one of three contracts awarded by AFRL to Jaunt under the leadership of Martin Peryea, CEO of Jaunt Air Mobility.

“The purpose is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the noise sources in our aircraft configurations and the unique noise reduction opportunities,” says Martin Peryea. “We will apply the knowledge to the design of the Jaunt Journey all-electric (eVTOL) aircraft, allowing us to develop the most efficient, ultra-low noise aircraft for our customers in the urban air mobility market as well as cargo, medevac, and close air support military aircraft.”

Leading the Penn State University team is Professor Kenneth Brentner, an internationally renowned expert in aeroacoustics and rotorcraft noise. Dr. Brentner will be assisted by Mr. Dan Wachspress of CDI, the chief developer of CDI’s CHARM comprehensive rotorcraft analysis used throughout the eVTOL industry. Dr. Brentner stated that, “For this research, we will use CDI’s CHARM software coupled with our PSU-WOPWOP and PSU flight simulation software to model the Jaunt test vehicle. This noise prediction system was validated through comparison with NASA acoustic flight tests of six medium to lightweight helicopters in steady and maneuvering flight conditions.”

Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are highly competitive programs that encourage domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) with the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, STTR enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provide the incentive to profit from its commercialization. Central to the STTR program is the partnership between small businesses and nonprofit research institutions. STTR is to bridge the gap between basic science and the commercialization of resulting innovations.

Why it’s important: Jaunt’s government-funded noise research is equivalently applicable to the commercial applications for which the company’s vehicle is also designed. The technologies fostered by STTR programs such as this grant from the AFRL are essential to the forward progress of aerial mobility. Noise minimization is a key driver of public acceptance, and with this contract, Jaunt can work with aeroacoustic experts to expedite the integration of eVTOL aircraft in our airspaces.

Related: Jaunt Air Mobility and Varon Vehicles Partner for Aerial Mobility in Latin America

Source // Jaunt Air Mobility press release

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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