Yesterday saw the official launch of the Canadian Advanced Air Mobility (CAAM) Coalition, a group of industry stakeholders that seek to streamline research, development, and commercial operations in the AAM sector, with an initial focus on the Vancouver/British Columbia region. As technology is developed and integrated there, CAAM hopes to then foster its adoption in other areas in the country.
Among the more than 20 companies and governmental agencies that are involved as founding members is Bell Textron, which said it is “thrilled to lend expertise to industry and governmental partners to develop an integrated AAM ecosystem in Canada.”
The rotorcraft manufacturer is currently testing its autonomous pod transport (APT), a tail-sitting eVTOL aircraft capable of carrying a 70-pound cargo, the groundwork for which was developed at the Bell Textron Canada facility in Mirabel, Quebec. Recent tests for the APT included a 10-mile preprogrammed circuit path through Fort Worth’s busy airspace, collecting detect and avoid data, while demonstrating its beyond-visual-line of-sight capabilities. Bell is also developing an eVTOL aircraft called Nexus and has been selected as one of eight prospective partners for the planned Uber Elevate air taxi network.
Bell noted that “paving the way for innovation like APT entails close collaboration and an open conversation about the associated infrastructure, regulatory, operational and technology needs.”
This story comes from the new FutureFlight.aero resource developed by AIN to provide objective, independent coverage and analysis of new aviation technology, including electric aircraft developments.