United HeliFlight Service – “A Canary for eVTOL’s”
Marisa Garcia outlined in Forbes yesterday the prospect of using new helicopter-connection services, like the recently announced United Airlines HeliFlight service, as a “canary” or sorts for the future success of eVTOL transportation. Namely, Garcia focused on the potential hurdles that eVTOL’s might have to overcome that make them similar to helicopters: the high investment in technology that mandates a...

United HeliFlight Service – “A Canary for eVTOL’s”

Marisa Garcia outlined in Forbes yesterday the prospect of using new helicopter-connection services, like the recently announced United Airlines HeliFlight service, as a “canary” or sorts for the future success of eVTOL transportation.
Namely, Garcia focused on the potential hurdles that eVTOL’s might have to overcome that make them similar to helicopters: the high investment in technology that mandates a high utilization rate for a return on any level of investment. Other similar helicopter connection services exist, like FlyBlade, which is independently growing as one of the largest on-demand helicopter and aircraft charter businesses in the world, but Garcia argues that even companies like FlyBlade start to lose ground when they partner with another transportation entity to provide true door-to-door service, like Blade did with Delta. Supposedly, that partnership will now neither be confirmed nor denied by a Delta spokesperson reached out to with that very question.
However, there are a number of advantages that eVTOL’s have over the conventional helicopters that are outline in Garcia’s commentary: they’re quieter than helicopters, fully electric, and as a result, lower impact on the surrounding urban areas that they’re slated to operate in. Additionally, the sheer volume of funding that has poured in over the past few years has allowed for rapid industry progress. Coupled with mergers and acquisitions by numerous aerospace firms, the industry is burgeoning with preparedness and a level of work intensity that has not crossed the aerospace field (in terms of aircraft development time) in history.
Why it’s important: As Garcia stated in her commentary, the next 12 months will serve as a great barometer for the success of commercial eVTOL implementations and also for on demand door-to-door transportation business models in general. Companies like FlyBlade are most likely seeking to expand their reach, if not implement the infrastructure to be the single B2C model that a consumer may use to get from their door in New York to their condo in Los Angeles. Time will tell.
Source
- Forbes
- Image // United
Bell and Safran to Collaborate on Hybrid eVTOL Propulsion
Bell and Safran announced on Tuesday that they’d be working together on Bell’s new eVTOL system. Bell will be responsible for the design cycle, including manufacturing of the eVTOL, with Safran providing “a disruptive propulsion system”, according to Safran’s press release. Scott Brennan, Bell’s Director of Innovation, commented at a transit conference in Cologne: “This announcement is another proof point...

Bell and Safran to Collaborate on Hybrid eVTOL Propulsion

Bell and Safran announced on Tuesday that they’d be working together on Bell’s new eVTOL system. Bell will be responsible for the design cycle, including manufacturing of the eVTOL, with Safran providing “a disruptive propulsion system”, according to Safran’s press release.
Scott Brennan, Bell’s Director of Innovation, commented at a transit conference in Cologne: “This announcement is another proof point of our commitment to providing transportation of people and logistics in new, innovative and more efficient ways. Our work with Safran is a historical milestone for future transport solutions.”
While the announcement will undoubtedly aid Bell with their propulsion system, not much has been publicly released regarding their VTOL concept since the unveiling of the cabin of their Air Taxi at CES in January 2018 – detailed in TransportUP’s article here. This partnership leverages experience from Safran, but may also be Bell acknowledging the technical difficulties of hybridized eVTOL transport design and searching for heavy hitters in industry to provide a tailor-made solution.
Why it’s important: This announcement marks a large partnership between a propulsion and aerospace design company. While these partnerships are very common in the traditional aerospace industry, many eVTOL manufacturers are opting to insource their propulsion system to maintain complete control over the product that they’re designing. The Bell Safran partnership will certainly bring more experience and focused expertise to the table, but may also induce additional coordination challenges as integration of the eVTOL amplifies any small discrepancies that occurred during the design process.
Source
Boeing’s GoFly Flying Car Design Contest
The GoFly flying car design contest winners were announced on Thursday. The Boeing supported contest encouraged innovators and engineers to think outside the box to come up with novel solutions to personal transportation. All 10 winners received a $20,000 reward for topping out the more than 100 entires in the first phase of the contest. The second and third phases...

Boeing’s GoFly Flying Car Design Contest

The GoFly flying car design contest winners were announced on Thursday. The Boeing supported contest encouraged innovators and engineers to think outside the box to come up with novel solutions to personal transportation. All 10 winners received a $20,000 reward for topping out the more than 100 entires in the first phase of the contest. The second and third phases aim to have the winning teams design and build prototypes that will fly in 2019.
Boeing’s support of the contest is important because the aerospace industry will benefit from a no-idea-untouched format of competition that might allow some novel designs more consideration than normally given in established aerospace companies.
Greg Hyslop, Boeing’s Chief Technology Officer, stated: “The industry, from its inception, has thrived on good competition and innovation that is fueled by that competition. We need things like this to really spark the imagination of folks and encourage them.”
Why it’s important: Boeing’s acquisition of Aurora Flight Sciences in late 2017 was a clear indicator that Boeing was serious about investing and researching eVTOL flight. Now, the GoFly competition is furthering progress in the industry and creating connections between innovators and large OEM’s that will allow for a competitive, but constructive, atmosphere in which some of the best designs will actually be produced and introduced to the public.
Source
- Seattle Times
Workhorse SureFly Applies for FAA Type Certification
Workhorse’s SureFly prototype is now taking its next step towards functional operation – applying for a Federal Aviation Administration Type Certificate. The FAA certifies aircraft based on a number of factors, and in some case it is not necessary for a completely new Type Certificate for an aircraft to be issued if that aircraft shares similarities with a currently existing...

Workhorse SureFly Applies for FAA Type Certification

Workhorse’s SureFly prototype is now taking its next step towards functional operation – applying for a Federal Aviation Administration Type Certificate.
The FAA certifies aircraft based on a number of factors, and in some case it is not necessary for a completely new Type Certificate for an aircraft to be issued if that aircraft shares similarities with a currently existing aircraft of the same manufacturer. In the case of similar aircraft, an Amended Type Certificate would be required for legal certification of the aircraft in the United States.
However, since the SureFly is unlike anything the FAA has certified before, it must satisfy the requirements of a new Type Certificate.
The challenges that will face both the FAA and Workhorse don’t stop at applying the same standards that have been used for the past 30 years to the SureFly, though – since the SureFly is not a conventional aircraft, rotorcraft, or lighter-than-air vehicle (like the Goodyear blimp) a new set of certification standards will need to be developed that are directly pertinent to the SureFly. Until these standards are developed, it would be useless to attempt to apply the same standards of fixed-wing aircraft to the SureFly for certification.
Why it’s important: Workhorse’s move to apply for a Type Certificate with the FAA for the SureFly marks the first manufacturer to begin the certification process with the FAA using a vehicle that differs from conventional aircraft or helicopters. Serious players in the flying car and taxi industry should and most likely are monitoring the progress of SureFly’s certification path to learn lessons and make design choices that are conducive to clear demonstration of satisfactory performance traits that satisfy the FAA’s requirements. Finally, the FAA will also be challenged to innovate and determine a new set of certification standards for a new class of aircraft, which for many at the agency will be a completely new endeavor.
Read about the first flight of SureFly here.
Source
- The Shepherd
An Emerging Market – Flying Taxi Insurance
Initiatives like UberAIR aim for flying taxis to be implemented in cities such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Paris, and Dubai by 2023. While this rapid deployment goal is advantageous for the consumer, it has created an entirely new mode of transportation, which corresponds to an untapped niche market for insurance firms. The closest analogous insurance structure to a flying taxi...

An Emerging Market – Flying Taxi Insurance

Initiatives like UberAIR aim for flying taxis to be implemented in cities such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Paris, and Dubai by 2023. While this rapid deployment goal is advantageous for the consumer, it has created an entirely new mode of transportation, which corresponds to an untapped niche market for insurance firms.
The closest analogous insurance structure to a flying taxi that exists today is an aviation insurance policy. Many aviation insurance policies work similar to car insurance, except additional factors such as pilot certification, aircraft condition and quality, maintenance, and number of flight hours may all factor in to premiums so that they’re more accurate.
One unique aspect of aviation insurance is the duality of coverage – not only must an aircraft be insured in the air, it must also be insured for any possible incident that occurs on the ground. This is a thread of similarity to flying taxis, which will operate over densely populated areas with a frequency greater than most aircraft. Since this is the case, aviation insurance firms that plan to provide flying taxi insurance policies will undoubtedly be required to adjust their current aviation policies to accommodate an autonomous flying taxi operation on a commercial scale.
Why it’s important: Again, the current insurance policy that most closely resembles this planned commercial flying taxi business structure is that of a commercial airline, but the format of airline policies has remained relatively unchanged for the past 30 years. Flying cars and taxis will require shifts in policy that will create an entirely new niche for insurance firms. While no aircraft insurers have come forth announcing that they will be providing such coverage, it is not unreasonable to expect work behind the scenes ongoing currently – there are large insurance policy contracts to be won by insurers competing for wide-spread commercial flying taxi operations.
Source
- Insurance Business Magazine
- Image // Terrafugia
Volocopter Displayed at CeBIT Technology Fair 2018
Volocopter displayed their VC-200 flying taxi at the CeBIT Tech Fair on June 12th in Hannover, Germany. The CeBIT Fair runs from June 12-15, and is focused on “Future Mobility, Artificial Intelligence, and VR”. The VC-200 model was on display for visitors to experience. Volocopter’s presence at the fair marks one of the most well-known flying taxi manufacturer’s continued promotion...

Volocopter Displayed at CeBIT Technology Fair 2018

Volocopter displayed their VC-200 flying taxi at the CeBIT Tech Fair on June 12th in Hannover, Germany. The CeBIT Fair runs from June 12-15, and is focused on “Future Mobility, Artificial Intelligence, and VR”. The VC-200 model was on display for visitors to experience.
Volocopter’s presence at the fair marks one of the most well-known flying taxi manufacturer’s continued promotion in its home country of Germany. Volocopter is based in Bruschal, Germany, outside of Stuttgart.
Why it’s important: Volocopter’s progress towards certification is continuing, and their appearance at CeBIT will most likely bolster public sentiment and approval toward a company who’s certification path lies through EASA, the European Air Safety Agency. Volocopter is one of the few flying taxi companies in Germany currently pursuing certification within Europe, as a large number of other manufacturers are heading overseas to follow alternate routes that may reduce delays in bridging prototyping to production models.
Source
- Getty
- Phys.org
Elon Musk Criticizes Safety of Flying Cars
In a talk given at The Boring Company’s event in Los Angeles last week, Elon Musk commented on the nature of safety (or his opinion of the lack of it) in proposed flying cars, quoting the danger of operating a large amount of them in an urban area. Musk stated: “There will be zillions of these things flying all over...

Elon Musk Criticizes Safety of Flying Cars

In a talk given at The Boring Company’s event in Los Angeles last week, Elon Musk commented on the nature of safety (or his opinion of the lack of it) in proposed flying cars, quoting the danger of operating a large amount of them in an urban area.
Musk stated: “There will be zillions of these things flying all over the place and, inevitably, somebody’s not going to service their car properly and they’re going to drop a hubcap and it’s going to guillotine somebody.” Musk has criticized flying cars and taxis before, citing noise issues among other reasons that other transportation modes (like his tunneling initiative) might be superior.
Adding context to these comments is important as well – Musk was speaking to his Boring Company fans on the advantages of using tunnels under Los Angeles to alleviate traffic jams, tunnels that could potentially be linked with Hyperloops in the future. Of course, with an initiative like The Boring Company, other modes of transportation, such as flying cars and taxis, serve as competition for Musk.
Why it’s important: The urban transportation industry is by no means monopolized, but the big technology players are making moves to take their piece of this transportation mode – with varying approaches. While Musk’s statement is feasible, and no airborne craft is without any risk for a component failing, companies like BRS Aerospace are adding parachutes to flying taxis to increase safety, among other solutions. Finally, Musk’s boring initiative also has its challenges: the rate of boring is still much slower than what Musk wants, and city infrastructure and approvals must be had to build the miles of tunnel beneath Los Angeles. Flying cars and taxis don’t require roads or tunnels to be built, just vertiports.
Source
- CNET
- Image // TED
Queensland Prepares for Flying Cars
In a recent panel Friday at the Myriad Festival in Brisbane, Shark Tank’s Steve Baxter made some outspoken comments on the future of flying cars, and informed the public as the Chief Entrepreneur of Queensland that flying cars will happen, and will be in Australia within 10 years. Here’s some of the (notable) commentary: On the timeline for flying cars...

Queensland Prepares for Flying Cars

In a recent panel Friday at the Myriad Festival in Brisbane, Shark Tank’s Steve Baxter made some outspoken comments on the future of flying cars, and informed the public as the Chief Entrepreneur of Queensland that flying cars will happen, and will be in Australia within 10 years.
Here’s some of the (notable) commentary:
On the timeline for flying cars in Australia: “The question is, do we have them one year after LA or 10 years after LA.
On convincing the public of their safety: “The hard part is convincing people we will have 10,000 of these things flying above our heads and less of us will die in transport because of it,” he said.
Steve Baxter also added that flying cars and taxis would allow people to live up to 150 kilometers away from their work, but commute in less than 30 minutes.
On regulatory agencies: “We need to smash CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) and say get out of our way.”
On government permissions: “We don’t need the government’s permission to do this, we really don’t.
On the future of growth: “This is the best chance for us to have an amazing entrepreneurial reaction to a real problem which is mobility.”
Why it’s important: Steve Baxter joins the group of proponents for eVTOL’s be arguing that the rate of technological progression and ease of access and increase of mobility represent such a large benefit that the cost of government approvals and working with regulators to certify such a project aren’t large enough barriers to warrant second thoughts on continuing to progress the industry.
Source
- Brisbane Times
- Image // Kittyhawk Aero
Flying Car Parachutes? BRS Aerospace is Working On It
BRS Aerospace is coordinating with eVTOL manufacturers and regulators to add one of the most sought-after safety features to this new class of flying craft – a parachute recovery system. Parachute recovery systems have already become popularized through wide-spread inclusion on light general aviation aircraft, such as Cirrus, and have saved 380 lives in the process. Now, BRS aims to...

Flying Car Parachutes? BRS Aerospace is Working On It

BRS Aerospace is coordinating with eVTOL manufacturers and regulators to add one of the most sought-after safety features to this new class of flying craft – a parachute recovery system.
Parachute recovery systems have already become popularized through wide-spread inclusion on light general aviation aircraft, such as Cirrus, and have saved 380 lives in the process. Now, BRS aims to add this technology to eVTOLs to increase their safety.
BRS President and Director Enrique Dillion stated: “Working with a number of new aircraft manufacturers, BRS Aerospace is at the early stages of creating technology that could make eVTOL aircraft a reality.” The technology would most likely feature a ballistic-deployed drogue parachute that would then pull the primary, full size parachute out of the eVTOL and allow it to land safely.
Why it’s important: Potential unmanned flight over densely populated areas is a large safety concern, one continuously cited by the FAA as high standard that must be met by eVTOL systems – the exact same standard of safety that current aircraft in operation today meet. BRS is bridging the technological gap between concept and implementation of flying cars and taxis by providing a critical safety component that will allow for a higher standard of redundancy and recovery should off-nominal situations occur during flight. Some manufacturers, like Workhorse, whose SureFly eVTOL had its first flight in early May, already plan on having recovery systems like BRS’s installed on their aircraft. Read our article on the first flight here.
Source
- BRS Aerospace Press Release
- Image // Flying Mag
Flying Taxi Certification – Uber and the FAA’s (Complicated) Relationship
Uber is determined to make flying taxis a reality by 2023 – and the FAA is determined to make sure that they do so in a safe manner. At Uber’s Elevate Summit 2018, FAA Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell spoke with Uber’s Chief Product Officer, Jeff Holden, on the path to certification, Elwell’s involvement in aviation, and the path for both...

Flying Taxi Certification – Uber and the FAA’s (Complicated) Relationship

Uber is determined to make flying taxis a reality by 2023 – and the FAA is determined to make sure that they do so in a safe manner.
At Uber’s Elevate Summit 2018, FAA Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell spoke with Uber’s Chief Product Officer, Jeff Holden, on the path to certification, Elwell’s involvement in aviation, and the path for both moving forward.
While the discussion was somewhat uncomfortable at the beginning, the mood relaxed somewhat when Holden asked Elwell how he became involved in aviation, and what his favorite aircraft was. Elwell is a pilot, and quickly took the prudent move of making the offhand remark that he can’t really comment on that due to a conflict of interest. More importantly, Holden asked Elwell a question selected from the audience: would Elwell fly in a self-piloted aircraft? Elwell’s response was a resounding “absolutely”.
Other inquiries focused on if Part 23 regulations required a complete rewrite to accommodate flying cars and taxis, to which Elwell qualified: “I don’t think that we’ll have to completely revamp Part 23”, moreover, Elwell added that more likely than a complete rewrite were some amendments and changes to the regulation.
The overarching theme of the complex regulator – operator – manufacturer relationship in the eVTOL industry is completely original. In the past, the pace of aerospace was well defined, and projects progressed with predictable speed. With the involvement of a larger portion of technology firms, agendas are pressed harder, deadlines are set more ambitiously, and in this case the technology is ready before regulators are. This is the heart of the issue, especially with the larger regulating bodies such as the FAA and EASA.
Some eVTOL companies are taking alternative approaches and working with different regulators, such as Larry-Page backed Kittyhawk Aerospace, which is working on their Cora concept in New Zealand with the CAA. Read TUP’s article on Cora here.
The final take: Regulators are being pressed like they’ve never been before to determine how they’ll modify regulation to account for an entire new type of aircraft to certify. Simultaneously, as government entities focused primarily on the general public’s safety, regulators are balancing modification of regulation with the exact same high level of safety standard.
Source
- Image // evtol.news
Elevate Summit Day 2 Recap
The Uber Elevate Summit 2018 has concluded at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, CA – here’s everything that you should know from the second day of the conference about the flying car industry: Uber Announces Call for First International City to participate in UberAIR Celina Mikolajcak, Uber’s Director of Engineering, Energy Storage Systems, and Alan Dowdell, VP of Business...

Elevate Summit Day 2 Recap

The Uber Elevate Summit 2018 has concluded at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, CA – here’s everything that you should know from the second day of the conference about the flying car industry:
- Uber Announces Call for First International City to participate in UberAIR
- Celina Mikolajcak, Uber’s Director of Engineering, Energy Storage Systems, and Alan Dowdell, VP of Business Development, ChargePoint Discuss eVTOL Energy Systems (article here)
- Uber Partners with Gannet Fleming Architecture firm to develop first SkyPort Concept – VP Brian Smith Discusses the concept (article here)
Summit 2018 provided some valuable takeaways on the status of the flying car industry and the general sentiment of progress. Most notably, a number of manufacturers, including big OEM’s, released new eVTOL concepts at the conference – read our recap of Day 1 here for those big announcements.
In addition, policymakers and regulators (most notably the FAA) came together and fostered some intriguing conversation. Dan Elwell stated that he’d “absolutely ride in an autonomous aircraft” amid a conversation that was largely casual with slight resignation from manufacturers. Fortunately, the general consensus from this conversation was that Part 135 would not have to be completely rewritten to satisfy flying car operations in the US.
For a recap of the Summit and the full Summit 2018 schedule, visit Uber’s site here.
UberAIR Skyport: Gannett Fleming Concept
UberAIR announced 6 different architecture firms’ concepts at the Uber Elevate Summit on Wednesday. Gannett Fleming’s concept, called SKYPORT by Gannett Fleming, features modular components, each called”The PAW”, that allow scalability. SKYPORT by Gannett Fleming was featured prominently during the Summit, and for good reason. The video below provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the SkyPort, including some of its...

UberAIR Skyport: Gannett Fleming Concept

UberAIR announced 6 different architecture firms’ concepts at the Uber Elevate Summit on Wednesday.
Gannett Fleming’s concept, called SKYPORT by Gannett Fleming, features modular components, each called”The PAW”, that allow scalability. SKYPORT by Gannett Fleming was featured prominently during the Summit, and for good reason. The video below provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the SkyPort, including some of its unique features that make it particularly attractive among other options presented at the Summit.
The PAW concept targets 24 second intervals of eVTOL’s taking off and landing for a pad of this size, coordinating the loading and unloading processes by using three outer landing sites per large “lily”. The concept should be able to handle 1000 takeoff/landing cycles per hour.
Brian Smith, VP of Gannett Fleming, commented on the goal of the Skyport design and emphasized that the results were testament to the level of interdisciplinary efforts that merged to create a design better than any one discipline could have hoped for.
Gannett Fleming leveraged policymakers, conventional architectural know-how, and additional aerospace consulting to develop the Skyport. This aerospace consulting was an interesting add for the firm – it helped Gannett Fleming design diffusers that deflect rotorwash from arriving and departing eVTOL’s and also reduce the noise level in congested urban areas. Additionally, this extra aerospace research identified the correct gap ratio for the diffusers that yields a simple, elegant, and most importantly functional design.
Another unique aspect of the design was the modular landing pads, each called “The PAW”. Here are a few of PAW’s features from Gannett Fleming’s website:
- PAW features a scalable design for a single, double, triple, or quad configuration to meet transportation demands, site requirements, and FAA clearance regulations
- PAW is optimized for vertical takeoff and landing, charging, and passenger loading
- PAW has a through-put capacity of 52 eVTOLS per hour, which is enhanced by a wire guided robot that captures the front landing gear of the eVTOL, lifts the gear inches off the tarmac, and rotates the vehicle 180 degrees to position it to taxi for immediate take-off.
According to the firm, the SKYPORT concept can accommodate 208 vehicle operations per hour with a quad-paw arrangement and would require 1.3 acres of land.
By 2028, SKYPORT could be scaled to “handle 600 arrivals or departures per hour moving 4,000 people every 60 minutes”. This scaled SKYPORT
- Offers a transition point with ground-based public transportation as well as retail and restaurant amenities
- Features intuitive wayfinding capabilities, including wall-mounted video screens, kiosks, color-coded elevators and signage, as well as an interactive connectivity with an Uber app on hand-held devices
- Uses illuminated walkways that lead passengers quickly and safely to the appropriate eVTOL
- Includes sustainability features such as photovoltaic receptors and transparent concrete to enable solar recharging as well as sound walls with acoustic baffles to let the wind pass through and minimize noise impacts
- Provides a storage and recharging site for Uber’s autonomous vehicles and eVTOLs.
Why it’s important: Gannett Fleming’s concept is but one of six finalists for the UberAIR SkyPort challenge, but represents a huge leap forward in original applications of architecture principles with multi-disciplinary constraints. The coordination and collaboration between all respective disciplines is opening up new design approaches and considerations that have the potential to spill over into everyday design as well.
Source
- Gannett Fleming
The Future of eVTOL Energy Systems
At Uber Elevate Summit 2018, Celina Mikolajcak, Uber‘s Director of Engineering, Energy Storage Systems, and Alan Dowdell, VP of Business Development, ChargePoint Discussed eVTOL Energy Systems in an interview with TransportUP. ChargePoint and Uber are partners on the UberAIR initiative, where ChargePoint intends on supplying charging infrastructure and connectors for Uber’s aircraft that will rapidly recharge UberAIR vehicles between flights....

The Future of eVTOL Energy Systems

At Uber Elevate Summit 2018, Celina Mikolajcak, Uber‘s Director of Engineering, Energy Storage Systems, and Alan Dowdell, VP of Business Development, ChargePoint Discussed eVTOL Energy Systems in an interview with TransportUP.
ChargePoint and Uber are partners on the UberAIR initiative, where ChargePoint intends on supplying charging infrastructure and connectors for Uber’s aircraft that will rapidly recharge UberAIR vehicles between flights.
The discussion focused on the potential to scale common connectors for electric vehicles, the advantages of particular battery cell arrangements, and the unique position that ChargePoint is in to help guide the path of future large scale electric vehicle (not just eVTOL) charging systems.
Here are some of the most notable conversation snippets:
- On battery pack cell arrangement and cooling: “A lot of people have tried air cooling but it’s not very effective – cells have a fair bit of thermal mass to them so really high performance packs will tend to be liquid cooled, they’ll have some form of cooling tube” stated Mikolajcak. “Another way to do this is to break the entire pack into separate smaller ones with battery management systems [BMS]; because you break the problem down so you’re able to keep that segment uniform” added Dowdell.
- Dowdell on ChargePoint’s influence in the electric vehicle industry: “What we wanted to do is start with this conference is start with the eVTOL’s and then engage with the semi-truck manufacturers because there is diversity in engineering designs today and we’re super thrilled with what’s happening here…people are saying “hey, have you thought about this”” sort of feedback. This is engineering, so there’s not going to be a common answer, but to the extent that we can get people on a common platform that can be lower cost, that can be approved quickly by the relevant authorities…how efficient would it be if there was only one standard, you had to prove that one standard and also knowing that if the FAA approves it, then the EASA standard might go easier”.
- On scaling the electric vehicle industry with a common platform: “We manufactured our high speed DC cable charger so that it has three different cable types, so that in the weird case where you’ve got Australia has Type 1 (form North America) and Type 2 (from European cars) so you end up with this weird situation, …equipment has to go through 3 different certification standards, so its more work for them. I’m really careful not to use the word standard because the Standards Boards do need to step up at some point but wouldn’t it be great if there was industry momentum that coalesced around a common platform and then makes the standards guys job a lot easier.”
Why it’s important: The partnership between ChargePoint and Uber is another example of a key partnership advancing research in areas of technology that have a far broader range of applicability than just the eVTOL community – as Dowdell stated during the interview, the scalability of ChargePoint’s connector is primed for electric commercial truck transports, and possible other applications as well. Finally, ChargePoint is pushing for common standards across application (aerospace or vehicular) to increase the economic upside of connectors and further the acceptance of commonality between regulatory boards.
Be sure to visit TransportUP’s recap of Day 1 at the Uber Elevate Summit 2018 and stay tuned for Day 2’s recap and a summary of the entire conference.
Source
- Uber
- ChargePoint
What You Need to Know – Uber Elevate Summit Day 1
Uber Elevate’s Summit 2018 Day 1 is winding down – here’s a quick overview of the biggest announcements and news from the day: Uber announced their partnership with Karem Aircraft, and unveiled an eVTOL dubbed the “Butterfly”: Embraer Released their EmbraerX concept: Pipistrel also released a concept eVTOL that will be part of a “family” of eVTOL aircraft: E-one Moli...

What You Need to Know – Uber Elevate Summit Day 1

Uber Elevate’s Summit 2018 Day 1 is winding down – here’s a quick overview of the biggest announcements and news from the day:
Uber announced their partnership with Karem Aircraft, and unveiled an eVTOL dubbed the “Butterfly”:
Embraer Released their EmbraerX concept:
Pipistrel also released a concept eVTOL that will be part of a “family” of eVTOL aircraft:
E-one Moli will collaborate with key industry players to develop battery packs for eVTOLS:
ChargePoint revealed a 2 MW eVTOL charging adapter that has roughly the same capacity as future truck chargers:
To summarize the event, Jeff Holden, Uber’s Chief Product Officer stated: “Today, Uber’s annual Elevate Summit took flight to showcase the aviation industry’s advancements on many fronts needed to make uberAIR a reality by 2023. This includes multiple vehicle designs, new battery technology, manufacturing improvements and the ‘operating system’ that will enable safe, precise, environmentally friendly operations at scale and allow cities to radically improve their transit networks. This gargantuan effort to ‘push a button and get a flight’ can only be accomplished through close partnership across the public and private sectors, and that’s exactly what Elevate Summits are all about.”
Wednesday Preview
Day 2 of Elevate Summit 2018 has three tracks:
- Track 1: Vehicles & Battery
- Track 2: Airspace & Ops
- Track 3: Moving Cities
Each track will have dedicated speakers and panels to discuss each of the respective disciplines moving forward in the flying car industry. Some speakers and panels of note:
- Elevate Airspace Systems – Tom Prevot, Director of Engineering, Airspace Systems, Uber Elevate
- Speaker Series: A Simplified Cockpit Experience – featuring a number of test pilots and regulators, this panel should touch on the importance of defining a simplified cockpit and the advantages of this configuration during the transition from manned to unmanned aerial transportation systems.
For a full overview and schedule of Elevate Summit 2018, go here.
Source
- Embraer
- Pipistrel
- Uber
- Molicel
- ChargePoint
- Karem Aircraft
Uber Elevate Summit 2018 Preview
This year’s Uber Elevate Summit marks the second annual gathering focused on advancing the flying car and taxi market. The Summit also promises to yield a number of exciting announcements on recent developments from representatives at companies such as Embraer, Pipistrel, Bell Flight, Aurora Flight Sciences, and ChargePoint. Be sure to refer back to transportup.com throughout the course of the...

Uber Elevate Summit 2018 Preview

This year’s Uber Elevate Summit marks the second annual gathering focused on advancing the flying car and taxi market. The Summit also promises to yield a number of exciting announcements on recent developments from representatives at companies such as Embraer, Pipistrel, Bell Flight, Aurora Flight Sciences, and ChargePoint. Be sure to refer back to transportup.com throughout the course of the two-day summit for daily recaps of the events.
Tuesday Overview
Key Speakers
- Leading the list of key speakers will be a conversation between Nikhil Goel, Head of Product, Aviation, Uber, and Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles. This discussion is critical to Uber, as the Elevate initiative targets Los Angeles as one of the first two cities (along with the Dallas/Fort Worth Metro Area) for deployment of UberAIR
- Michael Thacker, Bell Flight: Bell Helicopters rebranded themselves as Bell Flight earlier this year, marking the transition toward a heavier focus on flying cars and taxis. At the inaugural Uber Elevate conference last year, Bell showcased a glimpse of the vehicle that they’ve been working on – expect to see a little more, if not a full reveal, of their concept Tuesday.
- Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, CEO, Embraer: The EmbraerX development team is sure to bring exciting announcements on the progress of their work over the last year. Even more interesting are the dynamics between Embraer’s work and Boeing’s eVTOL efforts – Boeing and Embraer engaged in merger talks earlier this spring, and Boeing also purchased Aurora Flight Sciences, another eVTOL company. Expect some comment on this relationship during this talk.
- John Langford, President and CEO, Aurora Flight Sciences, A Boeing Company: Expect a unique announcement from the President and CEO of the recently acquired Aurora Flight Sciences. Due to the dynamics described above, AFS is in the unique situation of defining
Possible Announcements:
- Bell Flight’s concept unveil – the concept was touted last year, and limited sneak-peaks of the eVTOL were released – however after another year more substantial reveals may be disclosed.
- Embraer and Boeing // Aurora Flight Sciences – will the relationship between Boeing and Embraer be complicated by potential merger talks that are still ongoing? Make sure to listen to talks from Embraer and Aurora Flight Sciences for more.
Takeaways: The first day of the Uber Elevate Summit 2018 will be jam-packed with heavy hitters announcing their past year’s work and developments. By the end of tomorrow, Bell Flight may have will released their full eVTOL concept, and Embraer and Boeing may more clearly define how their vertical flight development programs are linked (or not).
Check back Tuesday evening for a recap of the first day of the conference and a preview of Wednesday’s docket.
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