The second edition of Rotorcraft Asia 2019 and Unmanned Systems Asia 2019 opened Monday against the backdrop of an expected slowdown in growth of the helicopter fleet in Asia, but growing interest in the unmanned solutions. Seeing an increased focus on urban air mobility (UAM) in the region, the organizers also presented the Urban Mobility Showcase, presenting solutions for eVTOLs and mixed operations between helicopters and unmanned technologies.
Germany Volocopter, for example, brought its Volocopter 2X for the first time to the show. The company is in talks with the Singaporean authorities to trial the electric-powered platform in the island state, after Dubai. The company also hopes that it can perform its first flight in Singapore by the second half this year and enter commercial service in two to three years.
Markus Scherer, head of consulting, Hong Kong Ipsos Business Consulting, said the commercial drone solution in Asia-Pacific will witness the fastest growth in the world, at a rate of around 34 percent CAGR, into a $3.1 billion market by 2021. China will dominate the market, accounting for about 47 percent of the share.
He added that the way forward from 2021 is for the market and authorities to develop regulations and solutions for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), and also overcoming the current "human loop" where one drone is tagged to a single drone. Scherer said if a pilot is tagged to multiple drones, it would overcome the scalability issue of the drone economy.
After a compound growth of 4.2 percent in helicopter fleet in Asia from 2014 to 2018, the market is hitting the brakes from economic uncertainties in China, its largest growth provider. Asian Sky Group forecasts the helicopter market there will grow at 3.2 percent. Asian Sky Group chairman Max Buirski said the slump in oil prices has affected Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, where fleet growth has remained stagnant. However, he foresees a resurgence of the helicopter fleet as the oil and gas industry recovers.
“The industry has seen some headwinds, but as the industry recovers, the delegates here at the show will be able to connect, network and further find opportunities,” said Leck Chet Lam, managing director of Experia Event. The organizer is expecting 3,500 attendees and 100 companies this week at the show, up from 3,000 visitors and 80 companies two years ago.
EmbraerX, the urban air mobility (UAM) subsidiary of Brazilian plane-maker Embraer, has begun conversations in Asia-Pacific to better understand the UAM environment and expectations of the region. David Rottblatt, Embraer X business development director, told AIN at the Rotorcraft Asia 19 show in Singapore that the company has begun talks with more than five Asia-Pacific regulators for about five months, starting with Singapore.
“We are here to find out what the communities and regulator expects, and what is the roadmap like for UAM and electric Vertical Take Off and Landing (eVTOL),” he said. “ We have engaged all sort of demographics from regulators, pilots, and the communities.”
Embraer X unveiled its first eVTOL concept in May 2018 in response to Uber’s call for the development for its uberAIR solution.
Although this will be Embraer's first foray into rotary wing aircraft, Rottblatt said the company is pulling from more than 60 years of aircraft developments and will go through the same rigorous flight tests and certifications as its fixed-wing counterparts.
“We are taking our time to make sure that our design drivers are right, and since we are still in the pre-competition stage it is important that we all work together to develop the UAM concept as a community,” he said, brushing aside any worry that the company is behind competitors in the eVTOL race. He added that the Embraer joint venture with Boeing would also not affect any progress in Embraer X.
Similarly, across the Atlantic, Airbus hopes to fly the City Airbus four-seater eVTOL design by the June 2019. According to Derek Cheng, Airbus’s head of Asia-Pacific UAM, strategy and international, the company is in the process of designing the next eVTOL platform based on lessons by City Airbus and its single-seat test bed Vahana, and the final design review should complete by end 2019 and first flight should begin in end 2020.
Cheng said the current three design hurdles include: developing a battery pack for beyond 15 minutes, which will be the ‘main game changer’; the maturity of autonomous systems; and noise levels. He said Airbus is working on the upper limit of 65db, which is the same as a passing subway train, and will affect where the aircraft can land in the city.