Skyportz Starts Building First Aeroberm Vertipad Prototype

Australian startup Skyportz is entering the fabrication phase for its first full-scale vertipad prototype, which will augment and verify performance data gleaned from digital modelling. The first build location for the facility is expected to be revealed in the coming months.

This aircraft-agnostic design will also be made available to interested parties wishing to construct and build their own, Skyportz announced on November 6. Several Australian and international partners are already engaged in site selection and design adaptation, the company added.

Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown confirmed that the company will be “offering [its] intellectual property at no charge to OEMs, vertiport test beds and safety regulators who want to participate in [its] ongoing research and development program.” Skyportz first applied to patent the technology in July 2024.

The company described its proprietary ‘Aeroberm’ vertipad as an “innovative elevated modular platform” that seeks to directly address three significant challenges to urban vertiport development. This includes the integration of elements specifically designed to help mitigate noise, fire risk, and downwash and outwash considerations.

Operating risks associated with the latter were highlighted in a January 2025 FAA Engineering Brief 105A, in which the regulator recommended larger “caution areas” around takeoff and landing areas. This was to counter potential hurricane-force winds induced by eVTOL rotor blades.

However, with the Aeroberm designed to suck in wind and circulate air currents below its elevated deck, Skyportz simulations indicate this power can be dissipated by up to 250%. The company believes its product “will significantly reduce the footprint requirements to satisfy the [FAA] Engineering Brief”.

Earlier this year, Newton-Brown described Skyportz’ goal for a “minimum viable product” to help the nascent eVTOL industry get off the ground. “With the Aeroberm, we’re removing the last major barriers to establishing affordable, practical, safe and community-friendly sites for air taxi operators,” he concluded.