GoldenfutureA new age of advanced airmobility appears to be withinreach, with regulators anddevelopers targeting high-profileservice launches around the nexttwo summer Olympic GamesJoby Aviation believes it can be providing air taxioperations by the time of Los Angeles 202866 Flight International April 2023
Environment MobilityJoby AviationHoward Hardee SacramentoSome believers in emerging aviation technologyhave a futuristic vision of a highly connectedfleet of electric vertical take-off and landing(eVTOL) vehicles in the sky above SouthernCalifornia within five years.The vision is shared not just by aviationentrepreneurs and Silicon Valley executives. Amongits promoters is Billy Nolen, acting administrator ofthe US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), whohas publicly identified the 2028 Olympic Games inLos Angeles as a potential opportunity to showcasethe USA as a leader in eVTOL technology.“As we think forward within the FAA, we’re sort ofthinking around the idea of ‘innovate 2028’ with theupcoming Olympics,” Nolen said during the NBAABusiness Aviation Convention and Exhibition inOrlando, Florida last October. “I mean, there’s nothinglike having an aspirational goal and aforcing function.“We’re talking about probably havinghundreds if not thousands of advancedair mobility [AAM] vehicles by the2028 timeframe,” he added.Aggressive timelineSpeaking to the same audience, PatrickKy, executive director of the EuropeanUnion Aviation Safety Agency (EASA),outlined an even more aggressive timelineby pointing to the 2024 Olympicsin Paris as when the emerging eVTOLindustry could shine on a world stage.“The French government is veryexcited about trying to use the ParisOlympics to showcase these newforms of mobility,” he said.Such encouragement from leadersof traditionally slow-moving regulatorybodies on both sides of the Atlantic hasnot gone unnoticed by air taxi developersracing to be the first to bringpotentially revolutionary air services to market.Two US developers that have made notable progresswith eVTOL prototypes – Archer Aviation and JobyAviation – are aiming to launch operations in 2025.Adam Goldstein, founder and chief executive ofCalifornia-based Archer, told FlightGlobal in Januarythat he has taken the FAA’s message to heart.“Billy Nolen has stated he wants these vehicles certifiedin 2024 and to get them operational in 2025,”he says. “I think there is a really big motivation to seethe next great aerospace company built in America,so you have a big policy backing where it’s becomeone of the FAA’s priorities to do this.50 milesCurrent maximum range expectation for eVTOL designs,enabling them to perform viable ride-sharing flightsAndrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock“This isn’t just like certifying the next plane or thenext cool thing,” he adds. “This is a vehicle that addsa lot of value to society.”Like many competitors, Archer envisions aride-sharing service using eVTOL aircraft to flypassengers less than 50 miles (80km). In November2022, the company unveiled its second airframe, afour-passenger-plus-pilot vehicle called Midnight.Commercial viabilityThough the viability of eVTOL platforms as commercialvehicles remains unproven, several major US airlineshave already placed their bets. Delta Air Lines,long sceptical of the AAM space, disclosed last yeara plan to invest up to $200 million in Joby. Archer,meanwhile, has backing from United Airlines. Bothcompanies plan to roll out operations with routesconnecting airports to city downtowns.Many other start-ups are working to develop andcertificate eVTOL aircraft in the coming years. Players“We’re talkingabout probablyhaving hundredsif not thousandsof advancedair mobilityvehicles [in use]by the 2028timeframe”Billy Nolen Acting administrator,US Federal Aviation Administrationinclude Germany’s Lilium Air Mobility, the UK’s VerticalAerospace, US-based Wisk Aero – which has fundingfrom Boeing – and Eve, backed by Embraer.As for the imagined fleet of eVTOL vehicles movingpeople in Los Angeles airspace by 2028, Goldsteinsays the timeline largely hinges on FAA certification.“The only way that happens is we certify in 2024and in 2025 we start operating,” he says. “Archer isn’tsaying that, Billy Nolen is saying that. It’s not thatArcher has this aggressive schedule, it’s that wheneverybody wants to get it done, we get it done.”Conforming aircraftFor start-ups to launch operations in 2025, they mustbegin testing conforming aircraft this year, SergioCecutta of SMG Consulting said during the VerticalFlight Society’s Electric VTOL Symposium in Mesa,Arizona on 26 January.“It takes a certain amount of time,” Cecutta says.“And this is the best-case scenario, right? We all wantto believe the OEMs that by 2025 we’ll have at leasttwo or three aircraft that are going to be certified.”Not everybody is bullish on the sector, however.April 2023 Flight International 67
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