U R B A N A I R M O B I L I T Y
60 | BU S INE S S A I R P O RT INT E RNAT I ONA L JA N UA RY 2 0 2 0
Kaydon Sanzione is CEO of
Jaunt Air Mobility, which is developing the
Reduced Rotor Operating Speed Aircraft (Rosa) and is a
partner in Uber Elevate. He believes the capability to reduce
travel time is what will ultimately convince aviation users to
switch to eVTOL aircraft. “For an average journey I have to
travel to the airport, go through security and start two and a
half hours before boarding time. It’s three and a half hours
travel time. When I get to Atlanta, there’s another hour at the
airport, he says.
“A seven hour journey is only three and half hours of air
travel time. Urban air mobility is about eliminating the three
and a half hours around the air travel time.
“Initial eVTOL aircraft aren’t going to be as affordable as
the existing general aviation aircraft. The first users will be
business and cargo. Transporting executives and staff to
meetings, or medical staff and vaccines to remote locations,
reducing a trip from hours to a matter of minutes.”
The first eVTOL aircraft pilots will be a mix of traditional
rotorcraft and general aviation pilots with new pilots also
trained specifically for these aircraft, believes Isbell, and
the controls are being designed accordingly. However, he
does not see people buying their own flying cars like they
own road cars. “The infrastructure can’t support consumers
buying their own aircraft,” he says.
“Also, there is a level of complexity that makes integrating
the traffic very challenging. Aircraft like Airbus’s Vahana will
move at 70-80 knots whereas Nexus will be 130 knots plus
– will there be a slow lane and a fast lane? It’s going to be
incredibly hard with the mix of different platforms.”
Airspace integration
How to integrate eVTOL aircraft into the current air traffic
control system and operate them safely is a question
that also bothers Paul McDuffee, business development
executive at Boeing Horizon X. The venture and innovationfocused
subsidiary of the aircraft manufacturer has invested
in companies developing unmanned air traffic management
systems and is devising a workable solution. “The $64
million question is how to integrate eVTOLs into an airspace
that was never designed to accommodate these things,”
says McDuffee.
“They are not really suited to 400ft and below, so we’re
looking at above that for these vehicles. NASA are doing a
lot of research and testing on how the current aerospace
structure can be modified to accommodate these vehicles.
Bell’s Nexus – first to market?
Bell’s Nexus aircraft features a
central wing, integrated landing
skids, a modified V tail and is
topped by a short horizontal
stabilizer. Bell plans to conduct
the first flight with its full-size
prototype next year and expects
the aircraft to be certified
during 2023.
The prototype’s cabin seats
up to five including the pilot. It
has a range of 150 miles and is
designed to maintain a cruise
speed of around 178mph.
Bell is leveraging its
expertise in military tilt rotors
such as the V-22 Osprey to
help develop the Nexus for the
commercial sector. It is also
tapping into its supply chain
contacts to partner with other
companies on components and
systems for the aircraft, such as
Safran for the engines, Thales
for the flight controls, Garmin
for the avionics and energy firm
EPS for the batteries.
The Nexus has six tilting
ducted fans, each powered by
individual electric motors to
provide redundancy. The ducted
fans are also less noisy than
open rotor designs according
to the company. It has a series
hybrid power system which Bell
says leaves the aircraft open to
one day being powered by fuel
cells or being fully electric.
“The $64 million
question is how to integrate
eVTOLs into an airspace
that was never designed to
accommodate them”
Paul McDuffee, business development executive,
Boeing Horizon X
Above: German company Lilium
has developed a concept
landing pad for its air taxi
Below: Bell’s V-22 Osprey
provides experience for the
development of its commercial
Nexus eVTOL