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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

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

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.

Boeing Subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences announced yesterday that a recent agreement from DARPA will allow for the transfer of Aurora’s X-plane developed eVTOL technology to commercial applications.

The x-plane technology, largely focused on piloting ducted fan and electric battery implementation in vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, will now be slated for wide-spread commercial application. The technology also included tilt-wing and tilt-canard-based propulsion.

Why it’s important: DARPA’s involvement in shepherding research-stage technology to commercial wide-scale implementation is indicative of government involvement and activism toward advancing the field of eVTOL aircraft. This announcement also reflects the quantity of work to be done if larger scale regulators, such as the FAA and EASA, plan to certify these new airborne systems as quickly as they are being researched and developed.

Source

• https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aurora-announces-x-plane-technology-to-transition-to-commercial-applications-300635928.html