FBO Groups Make Plans for eVTOL Air Taxi Services

The likely convergence between planned eVTOL air taxi services and mainstream business aviation has taken some shape over the past 12 months or so. Several FBO groups have begun work preparing to support the new aircraft, which could supplant helicopters in some instances, by developing vertiports and installing electric recharging equipment.

In August, Signature Aviation launched a partnership with Wisk Aero to prepare ground infrastructure to support commercial operations with the Boeing subsidiary’s autonomous eVTOLs. The companies agreed to develop vertiports alongside Signature’s terminals in Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami, which Wisk expects to be launch markets for its pilotless, four-seat aircraft.

Wisk is preparing to start flight-testing its Generation 6 prototype, having previously conducted more than 1,750 flights with five earlier iterations. The company has not yet established a basis for certifying the aircraft for autonomous operations with the FAA, and appears to be targeting service entry no sooner than 2030.

In June, Wisk announced airport partnerships in Miami and Kaga, Japan. The manufacturer’s agreement with Miami-Dade Aviation Department covers plans for vertiports at Miami International (KMIA), Miami Executive (KTMB), and Opa Locka Executive (KOPF) airports.

Last year, Wisk signed a similar agreement with Houston-area airports George Bush Intercontinental (KIAH), William P. Hobby (KHOU), and Ellington (KEFD), as well as with the nearby city of Sugar Land. The new partnership with Signature specifically covers plans for a vertiport at Ellington Airport, and the group has FBOs at all three Miami-area airports.

“We anticipate that electric aircraft of all types, including eVTOLs, will be operated alongside our existing business aircraft operations,” a Signature spokesman told AIN. “The timing and nature of those operations is still to be determined and will vary based on the market and operators’ requirements.”

In June, Signature forged a joint venture with Italy-based advanced air mobility (AAM) infrastructure specialist UrbanV, which it indicated could lead to vertiports being developed at many of Signature’s 200-plus FBOs. The initial focus of the partnership is on airports in Florida, New York, California, and Texas, with the companies focusing first on the economic and technical feasibility of supporting the new mode of transportation. This will include installing electric charging equipment at New York City East 34th Street Heliport.

Atlantic Aviation also has ambitions to incorporate AAM support infrastructure with its business aircraft support network. In January, the group acquired vertiport developer Ferrovial Vertiports, which has previously been working with eVTOL aircraft developers such as Lilium, Eve Air Mobility, and Vertical Aerospace.

“The goal is to build vertiports where the people are,” Kevin Cox, CEO of the Vertiports by Atlantic division, said at the NBAA regional forum in February. “We’re leading the way in vertiport development and now have four leases in Florida to build vertiports in city environments. AAM isn’t a matter of if, but when, and that when is within two years.”

Cox said vertiport sites can be as small as one acre or as large as two to three acres. “We’ll start with vertiports in big metro cities and then filter down to medium cities,” he added.

Atlantic is working with prominent U.S. eVTOL aircraft manufacturers Joby and Archer. Much of the focus is on providing infrastructure in the New York and Los Angeles areas, where early-use cases are expected to be established, and its plans could extend to more than 100 locations across North America.

Beta Grows Electric Recharging Infrastructure

Beta Technologies, which is developing the Alia 250 eVTOL and the CX300 conventional takeoff and landing model, has alliances with Atlantic, Signature, and Avflight covering the installation of its patented ChargeCube and MiniCube electric charging units at multiple sites. This technology is intended for use by multiple aircraft types, as well as by electric ground equipment.

Last year, the first Beta charger was installed at Atlantic’s facility at Elmira Regional Airport (KELM) in upstate New York, with plans also covering the group’s FBOs at Alabama’s Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (KBHM), Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (KJAN) in Mississippi, and Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (KBAF) in Massachusetts.

Signature has installed Beta chargers at FBOs along the U.S. East Coast, with the first site being Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (KMHT) in New Hampshire. Other installations have been made at Frederick Municipal Airport (KFDK) in Maryland and Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (KCHO) in Virginia. 

With state government funding, Avflight has installed the Beta chargers at four of its airport locations in Michigan: Lansing (KLAN) and West Michigan/Holland (KBIV) airports, Traverse City (KTVC), and Willow Run (KYIP). These installations tripled the number of FBOs where Avflight, which is part of the Avfuel group, has electric aviation infrastructure, with other FBOs located at Akron-Canton (KCAK) in Ohio and Columbus (KUBS) in Mississippi.

Clay Lacy Aviation has a partnership with eVTOL aircraft developer Joby, and also had an agreement with Overair, which in August effectively became part of rival Archer Aviation. One of the first locations earmarked for supporting eVTOL flights would be Clay Lacy’s FBO at John Wayne Airport in Southern California.

The small FBO chain is focusing on investments in electric charging infrastructure and determining how operational logistics can be handled to support eVTOL air services. This will include installing Joby’s Global Electric Aviation Charging System, which the manufacturer said can be used by multiple aircraft types.

As part of its plans to launch air taxi flights in the New York City area, Joby has plans to use the existing heliport in Kearny, New Jersey. It has an agreement in place with the facility’s owner and operator, Helo Holdings.