FutureFlight

When Alastair McIntosh first heard about the Lilium Jet and its array of 36 electric-powered ducted fans, he wasn’t convinced that the new eVTOL design would measure up to the lofty ambitions of the young German start-up company behind the project. At the time, he was managing director and head of engineering and technology with Rolls-Royce Germany, and during a 33-year career with that UK-based aircraft engines giant, he had worked on mighty turbofans such as the 118-inch-diameter Trent XWB, which powers the Airbus A350 widebody airliner.

SMG Consulting, which produces a "Reality Index"  to track the credibility of rival eVTOL aircraft programs, has added a new map to its website tracking cities that are expected to be early adopters of Advanced Air Mobility services. By clicking on icons, you can see details of when services are expected to start and which company will be operating them. A small propeller aircraft icon designates short-range urban air mobility services, while a larger jet aircraft icon shows where longer-range intra-city mobility services are anticipated.

The urban air mobility (UAM) industry is not short on bullish projections about anticipated demand for air taxi services provided by new eVTOL aircraft. But has anyone asked the as-yet unproven market’s prospective customers what they want?

The Demand and Capacity Optimisation for U-Space (DACUS) project last week published a concept of operations focused mainly on how drones will be integrated into urban airspace and provided with ground infrastructure. While much of the report discusses smaller unmanned aircraft, the group, which is backed by Eurocontrol’s Single European Sky ATM Research (Sesar) venture, has also addressed the needs of larger manned aircraft, including eVTOL air taxis.

Critics of eVTOL aircraft developer Volocopter commonly point to what they say are excessively limited applications for its all-electric VoloCity model, which, initially, will carry a pilot plus one passenger on short, largely urban, trips of up to 22 miles. Eventually, the company expects the multicopter to be approved for autonomous operations, freeing up a second revenue-generating seat, but, until battery technology takes a big leap forward, range will still be limited to short hops.

There are almost as many opinions about the potential size of the advanced air mobility market as there are eVTOL aircraft designs. They all seem to err on the bullish side and a new prognosis published by UK-based IDTechEx is no exception, with a headline projection that the market for air taxi applications alone will be worth $14.7 billion annually by 2041.

Two high fliers from the advanced air mobility sector have been named in the transportation segment of Fast Company magazine's rankings for The World's Most Innovative Companies. The top ten list for the transportation category of the annual rankings was topped by electric vehicle pioneer Tesla, with autonomous vehicle delivery service Waymo in the number four spot. In the sixth position was eVTOL aircraft developer Joby Aviation, which has just announced a $1.6 billion flotation.

Atlas Crest Investment Corp. has filed an S-4 registration form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, spelling out details of its merger with eVTOL aircraft developer Archer Aviation. The March 8 filing came almost a month after Archer and the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) announced plans for a $1.1 billion share flotation.

Legislation seeking to boost the development of advanced air mobility (AAM) in the U.S. is progressing in the House of Representatives and the Senate, apparently propelled by bipartisan Congressional support from Democrats and Republicans. The bills, both bearing the title “Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act,” call on Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to establish an inter-agency group to coordinate efforts to develop an AAM ecosystem to support widespread eVTOL aircraft operations.

EHang is taking legal action against Wolfpack Research, which last week published a highly contentious report that dismissed the eVTOL aircraft developer as “a stock promotion destined to crash and burn.” The self-proclaimed activities research group, which largely takes short positions on equities, leveled multiple accusations against EHang, alleging that it has misrepresented several aspects of its business dealings.