The Federal Aviation Administration has taken another key step toward safely enabling advanced air mobility this week by proposing a comprehensive rule for training and certifying pilots.  

“These proposed rules of the sky will safely usher in this new era of aviation and provide the certainty the industry needs to develop,” said Acting Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety David Boulter. 

Our next step to integrate air taxis is to determine how pilots of these powered-lift aircraft should be trained and certified. The FAA is now accepting comments from the public on a new proposed rule outlining the requirements to pilot these aircraft. https://t.co/KIuzJRCK2r pic.twitter.com/vwQD3Z4aCH

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) June 7, 2023

New rules are necessary because many of the proposed aircraft take off and land like a helicopter but fly enroute like an airplane. The powered-lift proposed rule is designed to provide certainty to pilots and the industry on what the requirements and expectations will be to operate these aircraft once it is finalized. Under the proposed rule: 

• A clear pathway is proposed for pilots to earn powered-lift ratings specific to each type of aircraft they fly. 
• Pilots who work for powered-lift aircraft manufacturers could serve as the initial cadre of flight instructors, who could then train instructors at flight schools, training centers and air carriers. 
• To safely accelerate pilot certification, alternate eligibility criteria would enable certain pilots to meet flight-time experience requirements faster. This would apply to pilots who already hold a commercial pilot certificate and are instrument rated. 
• Powered-lift aircraft would follow the same set of operating rules as traditional aircraft that are used in private and commercial flights and air tours. 

The proposal would conform to International Civil Aviation Organization requirements, enabling U.S. pilots to operate in other countries. 

Individuals can comment on the proposed rule for 60 days after it publishes in the Federal Register.

The proposed rule closely follows another integration milestone. Last month, the FAA released an updated blueprint for airspace and procedure changes to accommodate future air taxis.  

For more information, visit the FAA’s Advanced Air Mobility website.

Why it’s important: The FAA has published their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for powered-lift aircraft operations. This rule-making effort is critical to defining the certification path for civil operation of many eVTOL air taxis currently in development, and emphasizes a collaborative effort to best recruit expert knowledge from throughout the industry.

LIFT’s HEXA aircraft was recently evaluated in a series of tests in preparation of their upcoming public launch in the US.

As pictured above, one of the personal aerial vehicle’s safety features are HEXA’s bottom floats (6 on the legs, and one in the center), which make HEXA amphibious – capable of water take off and landings. 

Combined with the aircraft’s small profile and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability, this safety feature also opens up a range of possibilities for various applications. HEXA can be employed for a diverse range of missions – emergency response, including search-and-rescue missions, emergency medical services, and humanitarian aid efforts. During natural disasters or medical emergencies in remote areas, the aircraft can swiftly transport essential supplies, medical personnel, and equipment.

In a recent announcement, LIFT Aircraft publicized their Beta program, which will allow investors that contribute $5000 or more via StartEngine to have early access to flight training for HEXA flights at their Austin, Texas headquarters. As the company advertises, anyone is able to invest in the venture; LIFT has already amassed $18M in funding from VC’s, accredited investors, and US government grants, including over $5M from crowd sourced investing.

Related:

• LIFT Signs Letter of Intent For Usage in Manhattan, Charm Pre-Orders 100 HEXA PAV’s
• LIFT’s HEXA to Advance to Phase 3 Contract with USAF

Why it’s important: HEXA is one of the only aerial mobility vehicles capable of amphibious operations, opening up another medium of possibilities to fill an otherwise unaddressed niche of the aerial mobility Markey. LIFT is working to generate awareness in progress toward their investment campaign and upcoming public launch and continues to share with investors and enthusiasts alike a unique feature of their PAV.

LIFT Aircraft announced Monday the advent of their Beta program, which will allow investors that contribute $5,000 or more via StartEngine to have early access to flight training for HEXA flights at their Austin, Texas headquarters.

The company shared that they’re able to make this step forward now that they’ve completed testing of their beginner customer flight envelope in partnership with the US Air Force, and received approval from our Safety Advisory Board. LIFT has stated that this is the last step prior to their full public launch and US Tour.

LIFT has raised $18M in funding from VC’s, accredited investors, and US government grants, including over $5M from crowd sourced investing. Over 2,500 people have reportedly contributed.

In other recent news, LIFT completed the first-ever piloted eVTOL demonstration flights in Japan with the HEXA aircraft. The flights were conducted in partnership with Marubeni Corporation, with whom the Austin, Texas based company is partnering to develop and advance the eVTOL market in Japan, and with participation from GMO Internet Group.

LIFT has formally concluded Phase 1 flight test and beginner flight envelope development with the U.S. Air Force and has launched Alpha Flights, allowing people outside of their Flight Operations and Test teams to fly.

Related:

• LIFT Signs Letter of Intent For Usage in Manhattan, Charm Pre-Orders 100 HEXA PAV’s
• LIFT’s HEXA to Advance to Phase 3 Contract with USAF
• LIFT Aircraft and Parallel Flight Technologies Announce Hybrid Propulsion Partnership

Why it’s important: LIFT’s announcement would allow the public to visit LIFT’s flight test center in Austin and fly the HEXA prototype themselves for $5,000. LIFT has maintained a goal of making flying accessible to the general public and is backing up their intent by offering flight tests for a small fraction of the price of purchasing a HEXA. Additionally, these trial flight tests will offer more visibility to LIFT’s technology and enable the public to have increased visibility of the future of aerial mobility technologies.

To invest in LIFT, view the company’s StartEngine page here.

The FAA signed a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) document on November 21st that adds a “powered lift” aircraft to the existing types of air carrier operations, a move that would set the stage for air carrier regulations that would apply specifically to eVTOL and aerial mobility aircraft in the future.

The 98 page document outlines the mechanics of the new categories integration into existing regulations, as well as proposes the addition of “powered lift” aircraft to 14 CFR 110.2 and extends rules applicable to air carriers in certain operations to aerial mobility operations.

Additionally, the NPRM states that powered lift operational experience will be required for air carriers intending to operate powered lift type aircraft in air carrier capacities, meaning that the initial pool of powered lift experience will reside largely with OEM’s. Existing Part 135 and 121 carriers do not yet operate eVTOL aircraft as they’ve not yet been certified, and will seek operating experience with these new aircraft types as soon as possible to meet the proposed requirements for issuance of operation certificates (Part 119). Importantly, the NPRM extends beyond just Part 121 and 135, but also to Parts 91, 125, and 136 to ensure coverage and effectivity of regulations to the foreseeable applications of eVTOL use cases beyond just point to point transportation.

Why it’s important: The FAA’s movement to propose a new category of aircraft type be included in existing air carrier documentation is an important step for the FAA as they lay the groundwork for an innovative and disruptive type of aircraft that will challenge the current short haul to last mile status quo. Further, the FAA’s NPRM is currently under review and comment submission, meaning that the FAA will likely receive input from OEM’s developing aerial mobility aircraft as well as potential future operators as well.

The NPRM document from the FAA is located here.

LIFT Aircraft, developer of a personal electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle based in Austin, announced on Friday that they’ve signed a Letter of Intent with Charm Aviation to bring flight tours to customers in New York City as early as next year. Charm Aviation is one of the largest helicopter operators on the east coast, with a number of operations already running in New York City.

LIFT’s goal with this LOI is to put their concept of “personal aviation” to practice – to provide a service where anyone will be able to learn to fly their semi-autonomous eVTOL aircraft in less than an hour, and then solo pilot the single seat, ultralight vehicle, without needing a pilot’s license.

LIFT’s unique design allows for flights in uncongested areas and uncontrolled airspace in accordance with FAA regulations. Accoridngly, LIFT and Charm will need to make investments in new vertiports along the Hudson and East rivers in NYC or invest in existing spaces for operation bases for these flights. Further, their altitudes will be limited to 1,300′ AGL and within the uncontrolled Class G airspace in New York to deconflict from other traffic.

HEXA is approved to fly under the FAA’s Part 103 rules, and no pilot’s license is required to fly for personal, non-commercial use.

Charm Aviation operates one of the largest helicopter fleets on the East Coast, with operations in New York, New Jersey, and Baltimore. The ownership group has a combined 40 years of experience operating helicopter fleets and has experience operating heliports in Manhattan.

Under the terms of the agreement, LIFT and Charm will establish a joint venture that will have exclusive license from LIFT to operate in the greater NYC area. The parties have agreed to a pre-order for 100 HEXA eVTOL aircraft that they intend to deploy to multiple LIFT vertiport locations they will jointly develop in the greater NYC area over the next five years.

Why it’s important: This LOI represents the deployment of one of the first personal aerial vehicles to a congested, multi-modal transportation center on the east coast. LIFT and the Charm will have considerable integration work to tackle with New York city officials in addition to the FAA to select the first vertiport site and begin flight trials next year. Demand for such flights will likely be high following approval, so it’s crucial that discussions between NYC officials, New York air traffic management, and Charm, the operator, are in alignment to present a coordinated rollout of this exciting offering. Further, constraints on locations approved for the HEXA aircraft are planned to be implemented via geo-fencing to ensure safety and dedicated operational airspace for this effort.

Read the full press release here.

LIFT Aircraft Co. announced on April 7th that it was recently awarded a Phase 3 contract through the United States Air Force’s Agility Prime Program to continue experimentation and flight test efforts around HEXA, LIFT’s all-electric, single-seat eVTOL aircraft.

Since 2020, LIFT Aircraft has conducted flight testing with the support of the US Air Force under a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Additionally, the HEXA single seat eVTOL has been transported inside of the C-130 Hercules cargo transport aircraft to prove out additional use cases and ability to deploy the eVTOL in a variety of environments.

The newly awarded Phase 3 contract will continue experimentation and use case development through a fast paced, rigorous flight testing program. The program, which will begin at Eglin AFB per previous announcements from LIFT, may expand to other locations, and will include efforts such as flight envelope expansion, acoustics testing, developmental testing of a modular cargo adaptation for the airframe alongside continuous operational testing with stakeholders. This effort aims to accelerate and further develop HEXA for future public and military applications like emergency first response, personnel transport, base logistics, and search and rescue missions. The development effort will also help accelerate the testing required for LIFT’s planned rollout of commercial flight locations.

Agility Prime has taken a unique flexible approach to contracting with the newly awarded phase 3 SBIR for LIFT. The contract is designed to be as agile as possible – it allows not only the Air Force, but any governmental entity to contract for flight test activities with LIFT’s HEXA aircraft on an as-needed basis.

“This contract was designed to enable flexible flight test as a service (Company Owned-Company Operated) of multiple HEXA aircraft for any government stakeholder, location and desired experiment. We want it to be able to serve as a contract vehicle that accelerates HEXA towards fielding not just for the USAF, but the DOD and USG in general. We have a large number of interested stakeholders that are looking at use-cases for the aircraft and welcome growing the community even further in the future.” said the Technology Transition Lead and LIFT Program Manager at Agility Prime, Sterling Alley.

“​LIFT’s Phase III SBIR contract award is a meaningful vote of confidence from the US Air Force. It means the Air Force has determined LIFT’s previous development and testing contracts were successful. This is an important step towards scaling access to LIFT’s HEXA eVTOL aircraft throughout the DoD and Federal Government at large,” noted Eric Horan, former US Navy government contracting officer and founding partner of Decisive Point, a venture capital firm that invests in dual-use technology startups and has invested in LIFT.

Why it’s important: The recent extension and progression of LIFT’s work with the USAF will enable for future flight test progress and design of their eVTOL aircraft and will leverage the USAF’s experience in flight testing along with the resources of expertise in unique operational scenarios that can help to further develop and expand the envelope of the HEXA aircraft.

Parallel Flight Technologies and LIFT Aircraft announced a new collaboration to develop a hybridization solution for LIFT’s HEXA eVTOL aircraft on January 20th. Parallel Flight’s proprietary Parallel Hybrid Electric Multirotor (PHEM) drone technology is an “exponential improvement over existing solutions” in terms of flight time with a heavy payload, yielding increased efficiency and eliminating the large battery used in other hybrids.

Parallel Flight’s core Parallel Hybrid technology can be customized for next generation aircraft, which has the potential to extend HEXA’s flight time from 15 minutes to well over an hour and drastically increase range. If successful, LIFT would offer both all-electric and hybrid eVTOL flights at its vertiports, depending on the flight route and distance. Expanded applications for the LIFT HEXA after hybridization will include manned search and rescue, enhancing first responder capabilities by allowing for substantially quicker response times to remote locations; as well as considerable increases in useful flight durations and ranges for different military platforms.

“Parallel’s hybrid technology can offer the best of both worlds – instant electric torque needed for multirotor flight control combined with very high energy density of liquid fuels. Our all-electric aircraft is designed for short range/short-duration flights – which we believe will be the largest segment in the eVTOL market. However, a hybrid system will allow us to offer a significantly expanded flight area for those wanting to fly longer distances”, says Matt Chasen, Founder and CEO of LIFT Aircraft.

Joshua Resnick, CEO of Parallel Flight Technologies, adds, “LIFT’s revolutionary aircraft architecture is an ideal platform for hybridization using our Parallel Hybrid Electric Multritoror (PHEM) technology. HEXA’s design lends itself to safety, redundancy, and modularity, and I think there will be many use-cases and market opportunities enabled by a joint, hybrid solution.”

Parallel Flight’s transformative UAS technology can be applied across multiple logistics verticals, including real-time and complex healthcare logistics, tactical support for firefighters and first responders, and industrial logistics. By serving as an original equipment manufacturer and service provider, Parallel Flight Technologies is well-positioned to revolutionize drones as a service (DAAS) on a global scale.

Why it’s important: The partnership brings together LIFT Aircraft, maker of the HEXA personal air vehicle, and Parallel, which represents a considerable collaborative agreement that will allow for heavier useful loads to be carried by the HEXA PAV, and ultimately a wider range of applications for logistical and passenger carrying use cases. This announcement reflects the industry’s growing tendency toward adopting hybridized solutions to bridging technological gaps, taking pieces of future state technologies and applying them partially with existing systems providing the reliability required for successful implementation. Over time, these hybrid systems will eventually be fully replaced by the new, more advanced system architectures.

Read the full press release here.

Qarbon Aerospace has agreed with LIFT Aircraft to perform the system integration and assembly of LIFT’s HEXA eVTOL flying car at Qarbon’s Red Oak Facility. Additionally, Qarbon will secure supply chain sourcing as well for the HEXA, making the company the end-to-end manufacturer for LIFT’s flying car. 

According to Qarbon’s CEO Pete Wick, “This integration and assembly work expands upon the strong existing relationship between Qarbon Aerospace and the LIFT Aircraft team. We’re very proud that LIFT has placed their confidence in us to support them as the manufacturer of choice for their first-to-market eVTOL aircraft.”

Based in Red Oak, the company was formed just last month in May 2021 as a result of the acquisition of Qarbon Aerospace (formerly known as Triumph Group, Inc.) by equity firm Arlington Capital Partners. With three facilities — Red Oak, Milledgeville, GA and Rayong, Thailand — Qarbon now operates nearly 2 million square feet of factory space, where large, complex structural components are manufactured, such as fuselages, wings, flight control surfaces, and engine nacelles. 

LIFT CEO Matt Chasen pilots the HEXA over Camp Mabry, Texas as part of a visit for the USAF’s Agility Prime Initiative. Photograph: Sean Kornegay

Qarbon now is in charge of the manufacturing of the HEXA, a 18-propeller, 1-seater eVTOL aircraft. Designed for both recreational and military use, the HEXA provides services such as recreational trips over San Francisco Bay or air ambulance duties through the United States Air Force. The recreational flight services are available to anyone, and will cost $249 (currently $199 for early bird flight reservations) for a 15 minute flight with no pilot’s license required. Before flight, the customer will be required to undergo a 1 hour flight lesson, which covers safety training, flight controls instruction in a VR simulator, preflight checks, and a flight briefing from a “remote safety pilot.”  The HEXA also is currently part of the United States Air Force’s Agility Prime Initiative, and is in development for air ambulance and cargo retrieval services. 

Visit LIFT’s website here.

Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown, Jr., is shown seated in the HEXA aircraft. Photograph: Sean Kornegay

Why it’s important: With the manufacturer for the HEXA now selected, LIFT is one step closer to introducing a reinvention to how consumers and USAF approach transportation and logistics by providing easily accessible eVTOL flights nationwide. The first round of HEXAs are now slated for assembly at the Red Oak Facility, meaning that LIFT’s vision of making flying accessible to anyone could soon become a reality. 

Source // Dallas Innovates

EHang has unveiled the logistics version of its flagship product EHang 216 – the “EHang 216L”, for short-to-medium-haul air cargo transport logistics in both urban and rural areas. The 216L boasts a payload capacity of over 400 pounds, which is notably higher than many urban cargo drones currently on the market.

Similar to the EHang 216F passenger drone, The EHang 216L drone employs a fully redundant safety design and particularly, a distributed electric propulsion configuration consisting of 8 arms and 16 independent motors and propellers. The design delivers the key characteristics for which EHang is known: safety, autonomy, cluster management, interconnection and clean energy.

The high payload capability of the EHang 216L opens up more commercial opportunities for the EHang in various urban and rural aerial logistics use cases that require frequent and point-to-point flight tasks. For example, EHang 216 hopes to use the 216L to transport agricultural products (e.g. tea, fruit, etc.) between communities in mountainous regions with poor road conditions. The aircraft can also be deployed to deliver supplies and oil samples for offshore oil rigs autonomously, replenish supplies in busy international ports more efficiently, and respond to disaster relief and emergency supply needs more effectively than traditional solutions.

EHang’s Founder, Chairman and CEO Hu Huazhi said, “We’re thrilled to unveil another new version of AAV following the EHang 216F.  The EHang 216L will meet the demand for heavy-lift AAVs for short-to-medium-haul aerial logistics.  With increasing payloads and flight ranges, aerial logistics is expected to be one of the initial commercial applications of AAVs as it has higher efficiencies but lower emissions than the conventional ground transportation.  The launch of the EHang 216L also complements our existing aerial logistics AAV portfolio, which consists of the medium-sized Falcon B and the small-sized GD 2.0X.  It also enables us to meet customer needs in various aerial logistics use cases.”

EHang notes that According to Frost & Sullivan, the urban air mobility (“UAM”) global logistics market could reach US $46 billion by 2023, and China is projected to be the largest regional market in the world in 2023, accounting for 45% of the global logistics UAM market.

Why it matters: Building upon the success of the EHang 216 passenger aircraft, the 216L promises to deliver on the need for aerial urban vehicles with high-capacity cargo carrying capabilities. The EHang 216L’s cargo capacity of 200kg makes it likely winner as it can deliver far more than just a few packages as offered by other competitors. With the EHang 216L, EHang makes its AAV (autonomous aerial vehicle) offerings even more comprehensive, and it will be exciting to see how customers utilize the payload capabilities of the aircraft in the near future.

Souce: EHang press release

Lift Aircraft has announced plans to begin trial flights at it headquarters in Austin, TX.

Matt Chasen, a veteran of the startup world and a former Boeing engineer, says his company is planning to offer the first round of trial flights at its headquarters soon, reported GeekWire. Later, Lift Aircraft will complete a 25-city tour showcasing its ultralight aircraft, Hexa. The company gained public visibility with a visit from Jeff Bezos at Amazon’s MARS conference earlier this year.

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos sitting onboard Lift’s Hexa prototype. (Source: Lift Aircraft)

“Securing great places to fly in each city is not super easy but we’re planning to go to Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego in the first few months of next year, and will likely time our tour through Seattle for summer,” Chasen said in an email. “There are still a lot of uncertainties as we’re getting into our first, low-rate production soon, and flight testing is always unpredictable — but we are on track to start our first customer trial flights late this year in Austin.”

The company says Hexa will be a 18-rotor, electric powered helicopter for “fun flights”. Unlike other eVTOL manufacturers which pitch a multi-passenger air taxi, Hexa will be a one-passenger vehicle for short flights over urban areas and tourist destinations. Lift says the FAA will classify Hexa as a powered ultralight aircraft.

Why its matters: Lift is showing the variety of possible business opportunities presented in the aerial mobility industry. While most conversations are centered on air taxi services and the like, Lift plans to offer a different kind of service and tap into the tourism and entertainment industries. While it remains to be seen the size or profitability of this business model, Lift has a strong brand presence with its recent appearances with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and various industry trade shows/conferences.

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