At the National Business Aviation Association-Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas, Supernal said it will work with FBO network Clay Lacy Aviation to prepare the latter’s sites for eVTOL air taxis. Separately, the manufacturer signed a deal with Blade Urban Air Mobility with an eye toward refining and creating hypothetical routes for its flagship design.

Supernal’s SA-2, unveiled in January, is designed for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers in urban areas such as Miami or Los Angeles, the firm’s planned launch markets. Taking off vertically like a helicopter but cruising on fixed wings, it will have an initial range of about 60 sm (52 nm) and cruise at 120 mph (104 knots) at around 1,500 feet agl. The aircraft’s zero-emission and low-noise operation is another key selling point.

At NBAA-BACE from Tuesday to Thursday, Supernal will take attendees into a virtual reality space at Henderson Executive Airport (KHND) to give them an idea of the flying experience both for pilots and passengers.

The manufacturer at the event also announced a collaboration with Clay Lacy Aviation, its first official FBO partner, that will prepare the firm’s locations for eVTOL aircraft.

The strategy of working with FBOs to electrify their terminals is not uncommon in the nascent eVTOL space. Clay Lacy—the lone FBO accredited by the NBAA as a Sustainable Flight Department for its use of environmentally friendly infrastructure—is also installing infrastructure for eVTOL manufacturers Joby Aviation and Overair, for example.

Joby, Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies, and Lilium have similar arrangements with Atlantic Aviation. Archer and Beta are further working with another FBO network, Signature Aviation.

“Availability of infrastructure will be critical to scaling the AAM industry, and this partnership is the latest step in ensuring the ecosystem is thoughtfully designed for future commercial eVTOL operators,” said Diana Cooper, chief partnerships and policy officer for Supernal.

The manufacturer’s five-year agreement with Clay Lacy Aviation will focus on how to integrate eVTOL into existing airport operations, namely by devising standards and procedures for ground handling, battery management, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO). Supernal will further assist Clay Lacy Aviation with the installation of power and charging systems.

The partners will initially focus on the FBO network’s sites at Orange County Airport (KSNA) and Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) in Southern California, where Supernal plans to launch near the end of the decade. Later on, they will take what they have learned from those locations to prepare Clay Lacy Aviation’s broader network.

“Supernal and Clay Lacy share strong commitments to sustainable aviation, safe and efficient operations and a superior passenger experience that benefits the communities we serve,” said Scott Cutshall, president of real estate and sustainability for Clay Lacy Aviation.

Cutshall and Cooper on Wednesday will discuss how FBOs more broadly can prepare for electric air taxis on a NBAA-BACE panel that also includes representatives from Joby, Beta, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Separately, Supernal announced a three-year partnership with Blade, an operator of primarily helicopters that offers private, on-demand flights in New York City and a few other markets.

The partners will create hypothetical New York City routes to plan for air taxi, organ transplant transport, and other future eVTOL services. They will also look for “advantageous commercial arrangements in geographies of mutual interest”—such as a network in Southern California that combines Supernal’s eVTOL and Blade’s air charter broker platform.

“Our goal is to make aviation more accessible by preparing to adopt eVTOL aircraft,” said Melissa Tomkiel, president and general counsel of Blade. “In combining Blade’s expertise with Supernal’s forward-thinking innovations, this partnership is poised to accelerate AAM development and enable quiet, safe, and emission-free transportation.”

Supernal will help guide Blade’s plans to launch an AAM offering with technical and operational support. Blade in return will provide feedback on Supernal’s aircraft design, safety, passenger comfort, and potential to operate across multiple markets.

“It is critical we collaborate with experienced commercial partners like Blade to ensure our eVTOL’s cabin features align with passenger expectations for comfort, safety and efficiency in the next generation of inter-city mobility,” said David Rottblatt, senior director of strategy and commercialization at Supernal.

A Supernal-Blade network could fly passengers and cargo between Blade terminals at heliports and airports. At NBAA-BACE, for example, Blade is offering private helicopter flights between Henderson Executive Airport and the Las Vegas Convention Center, providing a glimpse of what a Supernal eVTOL route may look like.

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Supernal, an advanced air mobility (AAM) subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group spun out in 2021, on Tuesday unveiled its S-A2 vehicle concept at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 in Las Vegas, marking its entry into the eVTOL industry in earnest. The five-seat vehicle is built for a pilot and four passengers to fly on zero-emission air taxi routes in cities such as Los Angeles and Miami, as early as 2028.

Supernal said its air taxi services will emphasize safety and affordability, envisioning routine passenger travel over the congested streets of urban metropolises. Initially, the eVTOL will fly 25 to 40 sm (about 22 to 35 nm) trips, cruising at 120 mph (104 knots) at around 1,500 feet agl.

Before taking to U.S. skies, Supernal said S-A2 will achieve “commercial aviation safety levels” via FAA type certification, a process the firm expects to begin in 2026, per its website. Electric air taxi designs expected to hit the market in 2025 are about one year into that phase.

“By leveraging our talented 600-person team, the vast technical and business capabilities of Hyundai Motor Group, and trusted aviation suppliers around the world, Supernal is ready to deliver a new era of flight,” said Jaiwon Shin, president of Hyundai Motor Group and CEO of Supernal.

The large team—comparable to companies that have occupied the eVTOL space for years—will compete with the likes of Archer Aviation, Joby Aviation, and Boeing-owned Wisk Aero, all of which are backed at least in part by major airlines or aircraft OEMs. Supernal itself is working with a combined $1.2 trillion, funneled through its parent company’s other brands: Hyundai, Kia, and Hyundai Mobis.

The company also intends to work with Hyundai to develop an affordable manufacturing process for the air taxi, leveraging the prolific automaker’s web of engineering assets.

The Specs

According to Supernal, the main design considerations for S-A2 were safety, sustainability, and passenger comfort. The aircraft builds on the company’s S-A1 “vision concept”—an early prototype displayed at CES 2020. But a few key differences stand out.

The new concept retains the distributed electric propulsion system of its predecessor but doubles the number of tilting rotors from four to eight. Four propellers on the trailing edge of the nearly 50-foot wing tilt down to produce lift for vertical flight, while four on the leading edge tilt up.

Each tilt rotor will power the air taxi across all phases of flight, from vertical lift to horizontal cruise. According to Supernal, S-A2 will initially operate “as quietly as a dishwasher,” producing 60 dB of noise during vertical takeoff and landing and just 45 dB in cruise.

The S-A1, by contrast, paired four tilt propellers with four sets of stacked co-rotating propellers, using only the latter for vertical flight. The configuration was similar to the latest designs from Archer, Wisk, and U.K.-based Vertical Aerospace. Some observers have noted similarities between S-A2 and Archer’s Midnight prototype, which rolled out in March 2023 and took flight in October.

Supernal’s “robust” new airframe, measuring about 33 feet, also preserves the unusual V-tail design of S-A1. The V-tail replaces traditional vertical and horizontal tail control surfaces with a V-shaped “ruddervator,” which combines the functions of a rudder and elevator. 

Proponents of the V-tail claim it can reduce drag. Detractors dispute this and point to disadvantages in control and structural efficiency, arguing the design is useful only in special cases. Examples of V-tail aircraft include certain models of the Beechcraft Bonanza and Cirrus Vision Jet SF50.

The S-A2 airframe also includes redundant components in its powertrain, flight controls, avionics, and other critical systems. Should a rotor fail, for example, others can pick up the slack.

Supernal said the air taxi’s “clean, minimalist” aesthetic was influenced by automotive designs. Working with Hyundai engineers—who have spent years designing electric vehicles and “smart cars”—the manufacturer worked to blend style with functionality. The goal was to make the aircraft attractive to operators and passengers.

“S-A2 is a true representation of ‘auto meets aero,’” said Luc Donckerwolke, president, chief design officer, and chief creative officer of Hyundai Motor Group. “Drawing on the competence of Supernal’s top aerospace engineers and Hyundai Motor Group’s world-renowned automotive designers to create human-centric design that maximizes passenger experience and safety.”

Light changes between different phases of flight, for example, provide both aesthetic appeal and visual cues for passengers, Supernal said. Both the cockpit and fuselage are encircled by glass windows to give pilots and passengers panoramic views, with the potential side effect of added weight.

As it advances toward certification, production, and the addition of new use cases for S-A2, Supernal will also look to add flexibility. The ability to reconfigure the cabin for passengers or cargo or upgrade the battery module as the design improves, for example, may be on the horizon.

“S-A2 is designed to take full advantage of emerging electric powertrain advancements that will define the next generation of aviation,” said Ben Diachun, chief technology officer at Supernal. “From here, we will develop this concept into a revolutionary commercial product.”

The Flight Plan

Supernal’s S-A2 is on display at the company’s vertiport exhibit at CES 2024 until Friday. There, attendees can take a simulated flight over Los Angeles in a nod to what may be the company’s first commercial market. 

In 2022, it partnered with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to work with the city on exploring the feasibility of air taxi services there. That includes the development of key infrastructure, such as vertiports. Last year, Supernal opened an engineering headquarters and research and development facility outside the city.

Vertiports, for which the FAA released initial standards in 2022, will be a crucial component of Supernal’s planned service. The sites are expected to operate much like heliports today, with the addition of electric charging infrastructure. Many will be installed at airports and other existing airfields.

“Quiet electric flight will enable vertiports to be in cities, at airports and elsewhere for seamless integration with existing transit options,” Supernal said in a news release. “Combined with air traffic control improvements and advanced micro-weather forecasting, S-A2 and vertiports will facilitate mobility far beyond what existing and projected ground infrastructure can deliver.”

According to its website, Supernal will begin full-scale flight tests of S-A2 this year. But the company is not in a rush to launch alongside the initial cohort of air taxi competitors—which are expected to include Archer, Joby, and others—in 2025.

In addition to Los Angeles, Supernal has an agreement with the city of Miami to bring electric air taxi services there in 2028. Beyond the U.S., the manufacturer recently partnered with Korean Air to launch operations in South Korea.

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Unveiled for the first time Tuesday at the U.K.’s Farnborough International Airshow, the cabin “draws on the competence of the Hyundai Motor Group and the skillset of experienced automotive designers,” said Luc Donckerwolke, chief creative officer of Hyundai Motor Group in a released statement. To create the concept, designers leveraged more than 50 Hyundai affiliate companies, including automobiles, automotive parts, construction, robotics, and autonomous driving technology, according to Supernal. 

Take a look at the passenger cabin experience envisioned by Supernal for short, intra-city air taxi flights, taking off and landing from specialized vertiports.

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It’s a critical time in this emerging sector, when capital funding and expertise can make the difference between success or failure. Several leading air taxi developers aim to achieve certification for their new aircraft within the next few years, and they’re now looking to strengthen their plans for eventual manufacturing programs. Air taxi developers are partnering with automotive companies across multiple roles, including suppliers, investors, and consultants. 

The list of collaborations is long, but here are some examples:

• California’s Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) is working with Stellantis (formerly known as Fiat Chrysler) (NYSE: STLA)
• Hyundai has created its own eVTOL spinoff: Supernal.
• Honda is also planning to produce its own air taxi.
• Germany-based Lilium (NASDAQ: LILM) recently announced a deal with Japan-based Denso.
• Volocopter, also based in Germany, has partnered with Mercedes -Benz parent company Daimler (OTC US: DDAIF).
• California-based Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) has Toyota (NYSE: TM) as a major investor. 
• In Japan, Suzuki is backing an eVTOL startup called SkyDrive.

Although Henry Ford was once a major player in both sectors, partnerships between traditional aviation OEMs and automotive manufacturers have been more sporadic—though Porsche itself has a track record here, having partnered with Mooney Aircraft Company in the late 1980s to create a Porsche-engined Mooney M20L or Mooney PFM, from 1988 to 1990.

Now that investors are pouring hundreds of millions into eVTOL development, it’s worth asking: Why is the automotive industry so interested?

Electrification

One reason: Electrification. With the advent of electric cars and trucks, some automakers are drawn to the potential of electrifying all forms of transportation—including aviation. 

“Air transportation has been a long-term goal for Toyota, and while we continue our work in the automobile business, this agreement sets our sights to the sky,” said Toyota Motor Corporation president and CEO Akio Toyoda in 2020, after announcing its collaboration with Joby. 

Electrification is driven largely by the push to reduce transportation’s carbon footprint by creating zero-emission vehicles and aircraft. 

Manufacturing at Scale

Another big reason for increasing auto industry partnerships with eVTOL: Manufacturing expertise. 

Major eVTOL developers are planning to scale up manufacturing and flight operations enough to pay for the high cost of developing and building aircraft. Eventually some companies hope to produce tens of thousands of air taxis—many more aircraft than traditional airplane manufacturers. This will require optimization across manufacturing and supply chain. 

“That’s much more akin to what the auto industry does in terms of scale, production, and cadence,” says Edison Yu, a Deutsche Bank analyst for the air taxi industry who has also spent years analyzing the auto industry. “Automakers realize their expertise is at producing very complicated vehicles at scale. They can offer manufacturing prowess to these companies as a way to tap into a potentially lucrative opportunity.”

In fact, experts say the market is there. Last year Morgan Stanley projected the total addressable market (TAM) of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) at more than a trillion dollars by 2040. “Honestly no one has any idea, I think, how much it truly could be,” Yu says. “I don’t think the UAM piece alone could be a trillion.”

EV Overlap

Air taxi development also overlaps in multiple ways with the emerging electric vehicle (EV) space. Although high-performance battery systems required for eVTOLs will be much more robust than EVs, there could be valuable synergy across battery-cell development and expenses. Auto companies are going to be more adept at scaling production of eVTOL batteries and lowering their cost. 

Let’s not forget about the available labor force and potential employee overlap. Leading eVTOL developers have recently been luring engineers specializing in powertrains and battery systems from places like Tesla and Apple —which is working on a self-driving car, Project Titan.

• READ MORE: Apple Engineers Jumping to eVTOL

Branding and Passenger Acceptance

Passenger acceptance is an issue often discussed by leaders in the eVTOL space. There are many questions about how long it would take passengers to feel comfortable about flying on a new form of air transportation. 

An air taxi operator flying an aircraft with a well-known automotive brand with a reliable reputation may be at an advantage. Would passengers be “more willing to fly on something with a brand that they’ve heard of before, which they perceive as safe?” asks Yu. It’s a great market research question that could yield fascinating results. 

Transportation Ecosystem

Some industry leaders envision the two sectors eventually could be part of a unified transportation ecosystem. 

• READ MORE: Honda Wants to Build an Air Taxi

Last year Honda unveiled a concept for an entire electric transportation ecosystem that would be coordinated by a ride sharing app. The idea offers an example of what could come from both the eVTOL and automobile industries working together: providing environmentally friendly mobility with seamlessly connected transportation service across ground and air. 

With its HondaJet, Honda has already made its mark in aviation. Mitsubishi also has aircraft manufacturing expertise and experience. Does that heritage make them a more valuable partner in an eVTOL partnership? 

“Heritage, while important, may be a little bit overrated,” Yu says. “It’s almost more about moving fast and having the right team of people. On the certification side, heritage could help. But it’s not as big of an advantage as it may appear.”

• READ MORE: A Look at the HondaJet 2600 Concept

Analysts agree that Toyota and Joby Aviation make for a powerful combination, largely because of the length of their partnership and Toyota’s legendary manufacturing and production processes. Archer Aviation’s partnership with Stellantis is also a significantly valuable collaboration, experts say, citing Stellantis’s Detroit legacy that includes legendary brands like Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge.  

When Ford Built Airplanes

As we mentioned earlier, Ford took an early interest in airplanes—eventually manufacturing the Ford Tri-Motor airliner. 

The all-metal “tin goose” helped prove commercial air travel could be reliable and safe. Sadly, the Great Depression forced Ford to end production of commercial aircraft. 

Given the historic precedent and the apparent synergies, it stands to reason that air taxi developers and automotive manufacturers could prove to be a powerful combination as the emerging eVTOL industry comes to fruition in the next few decades. 

The post Why is the Auto Industry So Interested in eVTOLs? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Urban-Air Port, a U.K.-based ground infrastructure developer, demonstrated the world’s first fully operational eVTOL hub in cooperation with Hyundai Motor Group’s urban air mobility division, Supernal.

Welcome to #AirOne–the world’s first fully operational @UrbanAirPort for electric air vehicles. We’re in Coventry, U.K. with our initial concept vehicle for the grand opening.

Follow us for live coverage from the event this week!#AdvancedAirMobility #eVTOL #UrbanAirMobility pic.twitter.com/2dBsXL74Xe

— Supernal (@Supernal_aero) April 25, 2022

With support from the U.K. government, Air-One will operate for at least one month and will serve as a “blueprint” for more than 200 planned vertiports during the next five years. According to Urban-Air Port, the advanced air mobility (AAM) market is forecasted to grow 9 percent annually, eventually reaching $1 trillion within the next 20 years.

“The opening of Air-One is a momentous moment—the starting gun for a new age of transport, an age of zero-emission, congestion-free travel between and within cities that will make people healthier, happier and more connected than ever before. Cars have roads. Trains have rails. Planes have airports. Now, eVTOLs have an Urban-Air Port,” said Urban-Air Port Founder Ricky Sandhu.

According to Urban-Air Port, multiple international locations are already on the company’s order book for additional sites, such as Australia, South Korea, Germany, and the United States. Supernal is also expected to grow internationally, announcing efforts to bring air taxi services to Miami as soon as 2028.

Air-One will be home to several eVTOL operations, including aircraft command and control, cargo loading for unmanned drones, and demonstration flights. The vertiport will also serve as a charging hub for other modes of electric transportation.

“Air-One serves as a valuable, tangible asset to help build stakeholder confidence and trust in emerging mobility technology and supporting systems,” said Supernal Chief Commercial Officer Mike Whitaker. “The Coventry demonstration is an important first step forward to reimagining how people across the world will move, connect and live.” 

“Developing a scalable system to support advanced air mobility operations requires collaboration from all industries and corners of the world. Supernal’s support of Urban-Air Port reinforces our belief in fusing technology and innovation to enable humanity and society to reach new levels of potential.”

Tickets for public tours of the Air-One vertiport are now available at the company’s website.

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The memorandum of understanding (MOU) creates a framework for industry and community stakeholders to collaborate on policies that would foster an air taxi service. 

Artist’s renderings of Supernal’s concept electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi show what appears to be a tilt-rotor propulsion design. The company intends to develop a test article and earn all necessary regulatory approvals and certifications in time for it to enter service within six years. 

Supernal’s concept eVTOL would seat four to five passengers with a mission to fly short, intra-city hops, taking off and landing from specialized vertiports. 

Jumping into the advanced air mobility (AAM) game in 2021, Supernal is one of dozens of eVTOL developers looking to build zero-emissions, low-noise air taxis for short hops over traffic-clogged cities.

Like many of its competitors, Supernal plans to manufacture air taxis as well as operate an app-based rideshare service—a vertical business model that experts say requires huge amounts of capital. 

• READ MORE: The Top Four Issues Facing the Future of eVTOLs

The company has said it wants to create a “seamless, end-to-end passenger experience” with “access to traditionally underserved and remote locations.”

Supernal’s eVTOL competitor Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) has said it also intends to establish operations in Miami, once its air taxi is developed. Another eVTOL rival currently developing an air taxi, Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR), has committed to launching there in 2024. 

The post Miami Signs Air Taxi Agreement with Hyundai’s Supernal appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

More than 150 manufacturers and startups worldwide are developing entirely new designs for environmentally friendly, hovering air taxis, ambulances, regional airliners and even cargo haulers. None have achieved FAA or EASA certification, although several companies are projecting certification as soon as 2023 or 2024.

It’s all being driven by the promise of a trillion-dollar market and a chance to help solve two looming 21st century problems: carbon emissions and urban gridlock. 

Let’s quickly run down five of the year’s most significant developments in eVTOL, along with why they matter:

1. Major Funding Activity 

California eVTOL manufacturers Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation along with Germany-based Lilium and the U.K.’s Vertical Aerospace raised hundreds of millions of dollars in fresh capital in 2021, to stay afloat until commercial revenue starts flowing in. 

Instead of launching traditional initial public offerings (IPOs), Archer, Joby, Lilium, and Vertical Aerospace merged with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) as a faster path to go public. As a result, they became publicly traded stocks. By mid-December, the stocks of all four companies were trending lower compared to their opening prices.

Nonetheless, the new funds helped them expand operations and development toward certifying their aircraft.

Going public also helped boost the credibility of eVTOLs and the air taxi business model in general, experts said.

While Volocopter canceled its SPAC plans, Embraer’s Eve Air Mobility went the opposite direction and decided to merge with a SPAC in 2022. 

In September, Morgan Stanley singled out Joby as a potential front-runner by giving it an “overweight” rating. Analysts said they expect Joby’s stock to perform better in the future and beyond others in its market sector, which is estimated to be worth a trillion dollars by 2040.

2. Airlines Get Interested

United Airlines raised eyebrows in February when it announced a $1 billion provisional deal to buy Archer eVTOLs, which. 

This was especially significant because at the time of the announcement, Archer had not yet announced a prototype aircraft nor tested one. The deal showed investors that it had the backing of one of the world’s largest airlines and most well-known brands in aviation. In December, Archer conducted a successful first flight of its autonomous, two-seat demonstrator, Maker. The brief hover test proved for the first time that Archer’s design could fly. The flight also put Archer in the same league as other eVTOL makers that have actually flown demonstrator aircraft, including Lilium, Joby, Wisk Aero, and others.

Six months after Archer’s United deal, Lilium followed suit with a billion dollar agreement to sell 220 eVTOLs to Brazil-based airline Azul. The following month, U.K.-based Vertical Aerospace partnered with helicopter operator Bristow Group to develop and purchase up to 50 eVTOLs.

In Japan, Volocopter announced a deal with Japan Airlines to work toward “permanent” air taxi operations in Japan, with a commercial launch “within the next three years.”

JAL also reached an agreement with aviation leasing company Avolon to buy or lease as many as 50 eVTOLs from Vertical Aerospace. The deal mirrors Avolon’s contract with Brazil’s Gol airline to purchase or lease up to 250 Vertical Aerospace eVTOLs. 

3. Big Push To Build Vertiports

You can’t operate an air taxi airline without infrastructure on the ground. For eVTOLs to truly become viable, strategically located vertiports will need to offer efficient facilities for boarding and exiting aircraft, charging batteries and providing daily aircraft maintenance. 

Technical infrastructure can be expensive, which is why major eVTOL companies announced partnerships in 2021 to build new facilities—or to repurpose existing ones. 

For example, Archer and Joby both announced vertiport partnerships with Reef, the largest parking garage owner in the U.S. Reef’s network includes more than 4,800 garages across 70 percent of North America’s urban population.

In the U.K., Hyundai linked up with British startup Urban-Air Port to build 65 “electric urban airports” worldwide. Hyundai’s eVTOL subsidiary has a larger plan to build 200 “electric air mobility hubs” around the world by the end of 2026.

In Los Angeles, city officials and Volocopter began collaborating this year with Urban Movement Labs—a government-community transportation partnership—to work with neighborhoods on planning potential vertiport locations.
“Infrastructure is a key to unlock the eVTOL industry because they’re required to make the product useful to customers,” said Robin Riedel, a partner at management and consulting firm McKinsey & Company, which analyzes and tracks disruptive aerospace and air transport industries. “At the same time, they are complex and require real investment and often years-long development processes.”

4. Companies Target Asia-Pacific

The industry sent strong signals this year that the Asia-Pacific region could be a top eVTOL market. 

Volocopter announced a major partnership with China-based Aerofugia. A new company—Volocopter Chengdu—will work with the Chinese government to begin eVTOL service by 2026.

In nearby South Korea, the Germany-based company conducted the country’s first flight demonstration of its 2X prototype in November— signaling Volocopter’s plans to establish an air taxi service there.

Brazil-based Embraer has also staked a claim in the Asia-Pacific region. Embraer’s Eve Urban Air Mobility subsidiary sealed a deal with helicopter booking platform Ascent to provide 100 eVTOLs by 2026 to operate in Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Tokyo, and Melbourne, Australia.

5. Auto Manufacturers Want a Piece of eVTOL

Also in 2021, Honda and one of Detroit’s Big Three—Stellantis (formerly known as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles)—jumped into the eVTOL game. 

In addition to nearly a century of vehicle production and project management knowhow, the participation of these legacy manufacturers provides a powerful vote of confidence for an untested 21st century transportation idea.

Stellantis—the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram—is providing Archer with cockpit design elements and advanced composite material capabilities.

Honda is developing its new aircraft as part of a “mobility ecosystem,” which would include ground transport, air transport, and a reservation service system.

Auto manufacturers in aviation? It’s a bit reminiscent of an automobile entrepreneur in the 1920s who decided to get involved in the nascent airplane industry. You may have heard of him. Henry Ford ended up producing a small airliner called the Ford 5-AT Tri-Motor, which played a major role in the widespread acceptance of air travel. 

What’s Next

Looking ahead to 2022, the eVTOL industry shows no signs of slowing. 

Archer, Joby, Lilium, and others are expected to continue developing prototypes, moving closer to type certifying their aircraft with aviation regulators. Lilium plans to conduct flight testing in Spain aimed at winning EASA type certification in 2022.

Joby says it’s on track to achieve its FAA Part 135 certificate in 2022, which would allow the company to operate as a limited airline. It intends to operate traditional, existing, certified aircraft until its eVTOL wins type certification, expected in 2023. 

Sweden’s Jetson Aerospace is expected to roll out its Jetson ONE homebuilt, ultra-light eVTOL in 2022

Also expected in 2022: the first flight of the prototype eVTOL from Vertical Aerospace.

For the eVTOL industry as a whole, the coming year promises to bring plenty of hurdles, including developing complex technology, achieving regulatory requirements, and keeping investors happy.

Other Key eVTOL Stories in 2021

• Archer Publicly Unveils eVTOL Prototype
• First Look: CityAirbus NextGen
• NASA, Joby Test eVTOL Noise Levels
• Wisk Aero V. Archer Aviation: Bitter Battle
• Lawmakers Vote To Support eVTOL 
• Vertical Aerospace Plans Air Taxi to LHR 
• Volocopter’s First U.S. Flight Demonstration

The post 5 Ways eVTOL Got Bigger in 2021 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Supernal, which will be based in the U.S., will lead Hyundai’s Urban Air Mobility Division, which is expected to develop “a family of electric air vehicles.”

“In adding a new dimension to mobility, we are on a mission to transform how people and society move, connect, and live,” said Jaiwon Shin, chief executive officer of Supernal and president of Hyundai Motor Group, in a statement. “We have bold ambitions at Supernal, but being first to market is not one of them. We are working to build the right product and the right integrated market, and we will leverage Hyundai Motor Group’s scaled manufacturing expertise to ensure AAM [advanced air mobility] reaches the right price point and is accessible to the masses.”

The company plans not only to produce products in the eVTOL market, but to also provide services throughout UAM infrastructure.

• Read more: Hyundai, UK Startup to Build Network of eVTOL Airports

Much like Honda’s “mobility ecosystem,” Supernal plans to create an entire transit network. The company describes taking a car to a vertiport, taking off in an eVTOL, and riding an e-scooter for the last mile—all through a single app on your smartphone.

Hyundai previously introduced its initial concept eVTOL, the S-A1, at CES 2020 and has plans to begin the certification process in 2024. The S-A1 will be fully electric, capable of autonomous flight, and will seat up to five passengers in urban areas.

“We’re developing a commercially viable advanced air mobility (AAM) product from the start, designing and manufacturing our vehicle to the highest safety, noise, efficiency, and affordability standards,” said Ben Diachun, Supernal’s chief technology officer, in a statement. “Our growing team, which includes veterans of aerospace, automotive, and other deep-tech industries, is engineering sustainable vehicles that have the potential to evolve how we live, work, and play.”

Supernal has cited affordability as one of its most important factors to consider while developing its technology. The company plans to leverage artificial intelligence, autonomous control, electric powertrains, and mass production capabilities to advance their eVTOL technology and to keep costs at a minimum.

The company also plans to establish a “bench of academic partners” to bolster research efforts and talent pipelines.

“As an industry disruptor, we have a responsibility to ensure AAM integrates with and augments existing transit options and effectively serves local community needs. Developing the market— from the vehicle to critical infrastructure networks and public acceptance—takes thoughtful and strategic coordination; everything needs to align at the same time for AAM to reach its full promise,” Shin said.

Last year, Hyundai partnered with the city of Los Angeles and Urban Movement Labs to determine how public engagement and local policy will inform AAM efforts and timelines.

• Read more: Is Los Angeles Becoming a Battleground for eVTOLs?

Hyundai also partnered with Urban-Air Port in the U.K. to develop multifunctional AAM infrastructure, set to showcase a full-scale vertiport next year.

The post Hyundai Launches New Business Targeting eVTOL Market appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Los Angeles is shaping up to become the first major battleground in the potentially lucrative air taxi market. Already, industry players such as Hyundai, Archer Aviation, and Volocopter have partnered with community leaders who are setting the table for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. And while it’s not the only city, experts say L.A. is ideally positioned to be the proving ground for what could be a trillion-dollar industry by 2040.

All three companies have partnered with Urban Movement Labs (UML), a Los Angeles government-community transportation partnership.

“What we’re trying to do is just bring experts together to understand what the community needs, what the industry needs, what the government needs, what the city Department of Transportation needs in terms of information to make decisions about all this,” said UML’s Clint Harper, a U.S. Air Force veteran with 23 years of experience coordinating and managing in the aviation industry.

Stiff Competition

Here’s who’s staked a claim for L.A. so far:

Volocopter is the latest to announce its interest. This month, it began partnering with UML as it engages with community leaders about possible route locations, noise mitigation, and local jobs resulting from the new industry.

Last July in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Volocopter made a big splash at the annual AirVenture airshow with a two-seat, 18-rotor eVTOL prototype dubbed Volocopter 2X. The brief flight demonstration was billed as the first publicly crewed eVTOL air taxi test flight in the United States.

Volocopter is developing three eVTOL models—for short routes around town, for suburb-to-city routes, and for transporting heavy-lift goods. Showing some swagger, the Germany-based company predicts it will offer air taxi service in Paris with its short-range VoloCity model during the 2024 Olympic Games—less than three years from now.

It’s worth mentioning that, after Paris, the next Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028.

However, in L.A., Volocopter will have to compete with Archer Aviation, among others.

“There are 50 million daily trips in L.A. on the ground, of which 5 million take longer than an hour to drive,” Archer co-CEO Adam Goldstein told FLYING. “So there’s an incredible amount of potential customers there that can be moved into the air. L.A. meets a lot of criteria that makes it super attractive.”

Archer also comes to L.A. with a potential leg up on its competition: It has the backing of a powerful and historic aviation brand.

United Airlines announced a $1 billion deal with Archer last February aimed at acquiring a fleet of up to 200 electric aircraft within five years to fly customers to United hub airports, including LAX.

Initial air taxi routes could connect LAX with smaller regional airports. Eventually they could include established heliports, and then, ultimately, to newly constructed “vertiports.”

“We think we’ll launch there with a pretty measured approach,” Goldstein said. “We’ll start on a point-to-point basis, one or two routes, then we’ll start to expand. We’re not going to just dump a bunch of planes into one city right away.”

The first flight for Archer’s two-seat demonstrator is expected by the end of this year. The company said its larger, commercial model will seat four passengers and enter service as soon as 2024. The design of the aircraft, dubbed Maker, includes a V-tail and 12 rotors attached to a single, fixed wing, mounted high on the fuselage.

Hyundai, which also is working with UML, reportedly is making progress on its own eVTOL. In June, the company COO told Reuters it could launch an air taxi service as soon as 2025.

Why L.A.?

Overall, the air taxi industry is designed to help solve two growing problems: climate change and urban traffic congestion—exacerbated by urban sprawl and aging infrastructure.

L.A. fits that profile, which helps explain why the city is shaping up to be a potential battleground for competing air taxi makers.

Proponents say small, electric, hovering aircraft will offer crosstown commuters a clean alternative to fossil fuel burning vehicles on the ground.

There are five big reasons why Los Angeles could be a defining market for eVTOL air taxi operations:

• Traffic: L.A. traffic has been among the worst in the U.S. for decades.
• Air pollution: Reducing L.A.’s infamous air pollution is important to local leaders.
• History: California traditionally leads the way on environmentally friendly technology.
• Weather: Southern California’s climate often creates ideal flying conditions.
• Infrastructure: The region has multiple airports available for takeoff and landing locations.

Speaking of airports, a recent Georgia Tech survey published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics suggested six area airports as potential waypoints for eVTOL passengers:

• Los Angeles International (KLAX)
• Ontario International Airport (KONT)
• John Wayne Airport (KSNA)
• San Bernardino International Airport (KSBD)
• Hollywood Burbank Airport (KBUR)
• Long Beach Airport (KLGB)

Also, L.A. comes preloaded with existing infrastructure downtown that “could potentially be converted to vertiports,” according to the Georgia Tech survey. “From the 1970s until 2014, [L.A.] had regulations requiring buildings above a certain height to have a heliport on their roof to assist in evacuations.”

Hurdles Ahead

One of the major challenges facing the industry will be noise mitigation, specifically during takeoff and landing at vertiports. How loud will these aircraft be? Expectations are hard to measure at this point. Archer hasn’t provided a noise level for its aircraft while it hovers near ground level. Volocopter has reported a hover noise level of 65 decibels at a distance of 75 meters (246 feet).

Compare that with a Boeing 747, which creates more than 100 decibels during takeoff, measured at a distance of 2 miles, according to Volocopter.

As for establishing takeoff and landing sites, Archer has announced it’s already working toward launching a global vertiport network, starting with Los Angeles. Many of these landing pads would be located on rooftops of existing parking garages, the company says. “We need to make sure that we can move people through quickly, because the whole value proposition is saving people time,” Goldstein said. “Obviously, the number one thing that matters is safety. So we’ll work on that on a small scale and then scale our way into that over time.”

UML intends to work with communities surrounding these facilities to make sure their concerns are heard and addressed.

“The first phase of this is educational,” Harper said. “UML is trying to help stakeholders cut through the Jetsons and flying-car-fantasy information out there. It’s really about aviation. And with electric distributed propulsion technologies, we have an opportunity to not only integrate a new mode of transportation within the city but also improve an entire industry by solving some of these most pressing issues: noise, emissions and accessibility.”

UML has started a series of one-on-one interviews with community-based organizations, including groups interested in improving the commuting experience. They’re engaging with bus commuters, women and mothers, pedestrians and bicyclists, and other groups. “Some of those groups are actually among the more skeptical” about air taxis, said UML executive director Sam Morrissey.

Morrissey said these discussions touch on questions like:

• Who would be able to access air taxis?
• How will they impact people who live near vertiports?
• How could these facilities contribute to jobs and professional development?

Staff and Resources

UML also will be working with local leaders to make sure the city will have the staff and resources necessary to plan for what the eVTOL rollout will look like, Morrissey said. They’ll be discussing key questions such as: Do they have the right amount of people to review plans or to approve building and safety permits related to development?

The group will also be communicating with state and national groups such as the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), which manages airports at the state level, and federal entities such as NASA and the FAA.

“Because this is such a new field, we’re in a position to share lessons learned and maybe help influence what the federal guidelines will look like,” said Morrissey, who has more than 20 years of transportation planning and development experience in the region.

Harper said he expects Los Angelenos could see the first certified eVTOLs above their city by 2024. “That would likely be followed by a gradual scale-up to more widespread operations,” he said. “What that’s going to look like and how that infrastructure will look on the ground has yet to be determined.”

“We’re trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves,” he said. “We’re trying to move at the speed that the industry is moving.”

The post Is Los Angeles Becoming a Battleground for eVTOLs? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

A division of Hyundai and UK startup Urban-Air Port said Thursday they plan to build 65 electric urban airports worldwide to support burgeoning industries for delivery drones and electric air taxis.

As multiple companies race to develop electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, infrastructure will be needed to service these new vehicles.

Investors hope to create an entirely new industry offering environmentally friendly, convenient, and quick taxi flights across town and between regional cities, avoiding traffic on the ground.

According to a news release, the collaboration is part of the Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group’s larger plan to build 200 “electric air mobility hubs” around the world by the end of 2026.

Necessary infrastructure surrounding the maintenance and operation of eVTOLs has been named as a key challenge the industry must solve before it can thrive.

The numbers tell the story: $4.7 billion in investment money has been announced so far this year to develop eVTOLs such as Archer Aviation, Joby, and Lilium. But only $150 million has been earmarked for physical infrastructure required to fly them.

Describing itself as the “only company solely focused on deploying the infrastructure-technology essential for eVTOLs and delivery drones to operate,” Urban-Air Port said it will unveil “the world’s first fully operational urban-air port” early next year in Coventry, UK.

The post Hyundai, UK Startup to Build Network of eVTOL Airports appeared first on FLYING Magazine.