FutureFlight
November 18, 2020

The Choose Paris Region agency, working with airports group ADP and ground transportation network RATP, is evaluating expressions of interest from more than 150 companies and organizations wanting to join a project to start urban air mobility services in the French capital during 2024.

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November 12, 2020

South Korean officials granted EHang a special airworthiness certificate to conduct public flights with its two-seater 216 AAV eVTOL aircraft. The first was made in the capital, Seoul, on November 11.

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November 16, 2020

Electric-powered aircraft pioneer Bye Aerospace has signed a cooperation agreement with Safran Electrical & Power to equip its eFlyer 2 and eFlyer 4 aircraft with its ENGINeUS electric smart motors.

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November 17, 2020

Two more eVTOL aircraft developers have been named as partners for NASA's Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign, joining competitors such as Joby Aviation to advance safety for urban air mobility operations.

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November 17, 2020

The Vertical Flight Society and the Society of Flight Test Engineers have taken the lead in establishing an eVTOL Flight Test Council to encourage collaborative work to establish best practices and safety in the development of new aircraft.

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November 12, 2020

California start-up Moonware has been trialing its concept for autonomous, electrically powered tow tugs with Uber Elevate for its planned urban air mobility network. It says the vehicles could tow much larger aircraft, too.

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On the Radar
Report Predicts Burgeoning eVTOL Fleet and Big Spending By 2050

The numbers are still mouthwatering, and it’s little wonder that so many people want a seat at the table for the anticipated urban air mobility feast. The transport consultant firm of Roland Berger has just provided a fresh taste of what could be served up by the sector in its latest report, predicting that 160,000 of what it calls “commercial passenger drones” will be in the air by 2050. The Europe-based group values the market at $90 billion in a paper entitled "The High-Flying Industry: Urban Air Mobility Takes Off."

Some have questioned whether this nascent sector will survive the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, and not without reason. But the latest headline figures from Roland Berger represent a 60 percent increase from its earlier market survey published in November 2018, which projected 100,000 eVTOL aircraft in service 30 years from now.

Despite the pandemic, the report says that a further $907 million was invested in the start-up-led sector during the first six months of 2020. That’s more than 22 times the $40 million invested in 2016.

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FF VideoPlayer-Nov-18-2020-04-15-01-45-PM

This video gives a fascinating insight into plans to develop a large-scale vertiport complex to support urban air mobility services in South Korea. Project N.E.S.T. stands for Next Generation eVTOL Smart Transportation hub and it is being led by the Korea Airports Corporation. The concept shown here is for a six-floor structure that would accommodate all aspects of eVTOL aircraft operations, combined with extensive passenger terminal facilities. It also shows how it directly interfaces with ground transportation services and the extent to which Korean authorities intend to switch these to electrical power. 

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EHang is a China-based group developing a pair of Autonomous Aerial Vehicles, the single-seat 116 and the two-seat 216. The company has established a network of partners to conduct early operational trials with the aircraft ahead of type certification.

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Sebastien Couturier
 

Sebastien Couturier is head of innovation and corporate venture with Aeroports de Paris. He is involved in the Re.Invent Air Mobility Challenge being advanced by airports group ADP with the Choose Paris Region economic development agency and ground transportation network RATP. The project is aimed at launching urban air mobility services in and around the French capital, starting in 2024.

He has worked with ADP, which manages the main airports in the Paris region and several overseas as well, since 2006, having previously worked a senior project manager at Charles de Gaulle Airport and a general airport operations manager at Orly Airport. 

He has a masters degree in multimodal transport from the Universite Paris Pantheon-Sorbonne and another masters degree in air transport management from the Universite Paul Cezanne (Aix-Marseille).

UPCOMING EVENTS
 
December 9, 2020 /

The EASA Rotorcraft and VTOL Symposium 2020 will focus on safety issues. Presentations will include an update on the agency's proposed means of compliance for achieving type certification of new eVTOL aircraft. 

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