On Nov. 1–2, more than 400 representatives from government, industry and academia gathered in Seattle, Washington, to attend an industry day marking the launch of NASA’s UAM Grand Challenge plan, which is designed to provide an integrated vehicle and airspace operational environment for use as a “proving ground” for UAM aircraft developers.
The Electric VTOL News website now catalogs more than 130 eVTOL aircraft concepts — from the silly to the serious — and is an essential reference for developers and those following this exciting new domain. What information and references are available are included on the website. Concepts are generally publicized to attract interest, investment, talent and/or customers. Some of the innovative eVTOL concepts are backed by extensive research, while others are only notional with their feasibility still to be determined.
“Silent, Clean, Autonomous, Amphibious, Safe, Revolutionary.” These are the words SKYLYS Aircraft CEO Gary Chorostecki uses to describe the SKYLYS AO, a prototype electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle being shared with the public in detail for the first time today.
On Nov. 14, 2018, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) announced that it had conducted two days of meetings with European regulators on the development of eVTOL aircraft and technologies.
According to the press release, "Thirty senior eVTOL company figures from eight countries met with EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency), the European Commission and SESAR JU (Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking) over two days in Cologne and Brussels to discuss this burgeoning sector of the aviation industry."
In 2017, NASA hired two teams of consultants to study the viability of different urban air mobility (UAM) use cases.
On Nov. 6, 2018, NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) released highlights of the two in-depth UAM reports to the public.
Astro Aerospace holds the distinction of being one of a handful of electric aircraft developers in the world to have successfully flown a piloted electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. (More details on Astro and links to more resources are available at www.eVTOL.news/passenger-drone.)
On Nov. 1-2, more than 400 representatives from government, industry and academia gathered in Seattle, Washington, to attend an industry day marking the launch of NASA’s Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge plan.
Over the next few years, NASA will host a series of operational demonstration programs that will address known UAM challenges that will allow participants to learn from each other and collectively “raise the water level” together, explained Dr. Jaiwon Shin, NASA Associate Administrator, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD).
Bell announced on Oct. 2 that it had signed teaming agreement with Garmin International, Inc. on the development and integration of the autonomous vehicle management computer (VMC) systems to support the company's eVTOL on-demand mobility aircraft, the Bell Air Taxi. As noted previously, Safran will provide the hybrid-electric propulsion system for Bell’s VTOL aircraft.
On Oct. 15, 2018, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a public notice of its proposal of airworthiness standards to “enable the certification of small vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. This is to develop the first component of the regulatory framework to enable the safe operation of air taxi and electric VTOL (eVTOL) aircraft in Europe.”
Air New Zealand and Zephyr Airworks announced on Oct. 16 that they had signed an agreement to work collaboratively on bringing the world's first autonomous electric air taxi service to market in New Zealand. Zephyr Airworks is the operating company in New Zealand for Kitty Hawk’s Cora eVTOL.
