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Joby Aviation is generally considered to be the designer and manufacturer of one of the most advanced electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which the company is currently working to certify with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Since our beginnings in 1943 as the American Helicopter Society, the Vertical Flight Society (VFS) has had an expansive view of how to advance vertical flight. We didn’t just focus on the unique aspects of helicopters (e.g., rotors) but all of the technologies, methodologies and disciplines that supported the development of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Important systems like engines, lightweight structures and controls are applicable to all aircraft, but most critical to powered lift.
While many watched from home, eVTOL overshadowed the automotive displays and provided an opportunity for the public to see the future of air transport.
In conjunction with this year’s Transformative Vertical Flight (TVF2022) meeting, an exclusive opportunity for attendees to see six experimental eVTOL aircraft was held on Friday morning, Jan. 28 at the nearby Hiller Aviation Museum at San Carlos Airport.
Transformative Vertical Flight (TVF) 2022 was held Jan. 25–27, with some 375 participants in San Jose, California, and another 200 attendees online, in the first hybrid event organized by VFS.
In January, the US Air Force selected 11 companies to proceed with the conceptual development of a high-speed vertical takeoff and landing (HSVTOL) aircraft. Initiated in the spring of 2021 as the High-Speed VTOL Challenge, the effort is a collaboration between AFWERX, the Air Force’s innovation hub, and US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
Both the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) industry and the drone industry are experiencing a talent crisis. According to DroneAnalyst’s “2021 Drone Market Sector Report,” pilots are at a premium. A 2020 VFS study indicated that 10,000 additional engineers will be needed over the next decade in vertical flight to meet the simultaneous demands of ramping up development of military rotorcraft and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The current talent pool is simply not large enough to meet these demands.
This series addresses the uses of terminology that drift toward becoming routine expressions or idioms — or already are — but are misleading or erroneous. Last issue’s “Coming to Terms” column on the definition of the word “rotor” generated a significant amount of discussion. The article was featured on the VFS eVTOL.news website and e-newsletter, with several thoughtful comments posted the first day, followed by emails to the author and Vertiflite.
The H2eVTOL Council is now comprised of almost 200 senior engineers and leaders from eVTOL developers, professional societies, universities and government agencies, with the goal to help mobilize the global aerospace community and adjacent industries toward the transformation of air mobility, powered by hydrogen.
The 2021 clicks are in and the results speak to the breadth and depth of the detailed stories published on eVTOL.news. Here are the top 10 feature articles published in 2021.
