Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft are only a few years away from operational reality, creating an urban air mobility (UAM) industry that will rival helicopters as the primary means of aviation in the low-altitude airspace.
Whilst eVTOLs are not in the market of challenging heavy-lift and long-range helicopters, they will introduce a quieter, cleaner option in personal transport over short distances. The urban mobility concept that eVTOLs enable is expected to encourage a network of "vertiports" across major cities in Australia and around the world.
That in itself has prompted commentators around the country to ask what the difference is between a heliport and a vertiport, and whether or not eVTOLs represent a decrease in safety below that offered by conventional helicopters.
The company making the greatest inroads in Australia is Embraer subsidiary Eve Air Mobility. Eve has announced partnerships with Nautilus Aviation in QLD, Sydney Seaplanes in NSW and Microflite in Victoria.
Eve Vice President Business Development David Rottblatt told Australian Flying this week that eVTOLs would bring new capability to general aviation that current helicopter technology couldn't offer.
"eVTOLs are powered by electricity, bringing various benefits to operators and communities," Rottblatt said. "Eve’s lift plus cruise design is the most practical choice for efficient urban missions, with thousands of flight cycles per year and industry-leading reliability.
"Our design has a conventional wing with eight rotors to take off and land vertically, and propellers to push the vehicle forward at cruise altitude. This simple design also favors certifiability, battery usage, and operational and maintenance costs, allowing prices per seat more affordable for commuters.
"In terms of benefits for communities and the environment, our all-electric eVTOL offers zero local emissions and has a 90% lower noise footprint compared to equivalent helicopters. Eve is also concerned with accessibility, as we believe urban air mobility must be accessible for everyone."
Worldwide, the traveling public has never been quick to wrap their arms around machinery that defied convention in terms of design and apparent safety; big leaps have never been trusted regardless of the actual intergrity behind new designs. Those that remember the commercial failure of Burt Rutan's space-age-looking Beech Starship will understand how it struggled to gain acceptance.
So why are the world's eVTOL manufacturers confident the public won't shy away from machines that will resemble drones moreso than conventional aircraft?
"Eve is backed by Embraer, the world’s third-largest aircraft manufacturer, with over 50 years of history in the aerospace industry and more than 30 aircraft certified in the last 25 years," Rottblatt points out. "Our company benefits from Embraer’s expertise in engineering, safety and intellectual property, and a start-up mindset to accelerate UAM.
"We have been committed to the highest safety standards to ensure that our eVTOL and UAM solutions will meet and exceed the requirements of the various regulatory authorities worldwide and scale the market sustainably and safely."
On 1 December 2022, CASA released for public consultation a draft Advisory Circular (AC) on the design of vertiports. The AC is intended to provide a flexible framework for vertiport designers to work by, taking into account the types of aircraft that may emerge as the industry and technology matures.
The idea that cities like Melbourne and Sydney could soon be dotted with dozens of vertiports has raised questions of local planning restrictions and the roles of existing airports in UAM. Eve Air Mobility has their own vertiport design concepts in the wings, as David Rottblatt explained to Australian Flying.
"At entry into service, with a small number of eVTOLs operating, since it will take time for OEMs to scale their manufacturing capabilities, current heliports can be adapted and equipped with charging stations, for example, for eVTOL operations.
"However, when UAM starts to scale [up], it will be recognised as an alternative mode of transport within the city, and infrastructures must follow such development.
"Vertiports should be organised as transport hubs, providing multi-modal transport options, such as trains, buses, bicycles, scooters, etcetera, connecting people within the city and nearby areas.
"And as we mentioned before, at Eve, we are also concerned with accessibility and sustainability, so our concept of a vertiport brings these differentials compared to heliports."
Images of eVTOLs rising vertically from the midst of suburbia before transiting to horizontal flight has some industry commentators wondering how safe they are going to be, considering a vertical take-off with no forward speed in a helicopter results in lower safety margins than a take-off with forward speed.
Rottblatt says that the technology built into Eve's eVTOLs will mean very high levels of safety in vertical flight.
"Eve’s eVTOL is designed to meet commercial aviation safety standards, this will include sufficient reserves for hovering as mandated by the regulators.
"Our human-centric design philosophy, along with built in redundancies such as multiple lifters integrated with latest generation fly-by-wire systems, provide operators greater control simplicity and situational awareness for all phases of flight."
The first eVTOLs are expected to be operating in Australia in some form by 2026, which means that in a bit over three years, aviation in the lower flight levels is going to go through a complete revolution.
It is something that general aviation needs to be ready for.