Transcend Air and Lily Helipads are partnering to build barge-based vertipads adjacent to city centers including Boston, New York, Montreal, and San Francisco. Formed in 2017, Transcend plans to build and fly the $3.5 million, six-seat Vy 400 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft and launch service in 2024 from markets including Boston and New York.
The Vy 400 is a tilt-wing/rotor design that features fly-by-wire flight controls and power from a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboshaft. Performance goals include a maximum cruise speed of 352 knots and a range of 390 nm. The company has flown a variety of small-scale prototypes.
Lily Helipads builds environmentally friendly helipads with features such as solar power, patented and integrated LED lighting, heated surfaces that abate ice and snow accumulation, fluid runoff capture, and access that is compliant under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The helipads also are crash and hurricane-proof, Lily says. The company maintains a mobile workforce that installs helipads in all fifty states.
“By bringing vertipads close to travelers, we don’t increase airport traffic. And by focusing on a safe and environmentally friendly landing and takeoff infrastructure, as only Lily can help us provide, we will be creating a more sustainable way to travel,” said Transcend CEO Gregory Bruell.