VTOL On Demand Mobility

Nicknick said:
A range of 20 km is fully sufficient for that purpose and the very low disk load of the Volocopter (somewhere here is a diagram..,) will safe a lot of energy during take off and landing compared to tilting rotor concepts for higher speed and range.

Volocopter is still promoting the Volocopter City, the later model is no replacement but additional.
Click to expand...

One not so talked about pax experience with any fixed pitch eVTOL is having to fly forward at downward tilted attitude;- the faster forwards, the more pitched down. The rotor has to provide both a lift force and a forward flight force. Now the clever bit of the helicopter rotor is the way the lifting disc can be tilted relative to the direction of flight using the cyclic blade pitch control. Thus this largely keeps the pax facing the same direction as where they’re going, which all feels very natural.

The pax in the quadcopter type eVTOL will have to endure turns while pitched downward and moving forwards. In poor visibility this matches the Bárány chair technique (blindfold, spin around and then tilt head forward) that Aeromedical doctors use to categorise a pilot tolerance to air sickness, as ii normally makes even the most hardened veterans barf.

It’s a hell of a investment risk if your customers just find it too unpleasant to step aboard.
 
Zoo Tycoon said:
Nicknick said:
A range of 20 km is fully sufficient for that purpose and the very low disk load of the Volocopter (somewhere here is a diagram..,) will safe a lot of energy during take off and landing compared to tilting rotor concepts for higher speed and range.

Volocopter is still promoting the Volocopter City, the later model is no replacement but additional.
Click to expand...

One not so talked about pax experience with any fixed pitch eVTOL is having to fly forward at downward tilted attitude;- the faster forwards, the more pitched down. The rotor has to provide both a lift force and a forward flight force. Now the clever bit of the helicopter rotor is the way the lifting disc can be tilted relative to the direction of flight using the cyclic blade pitch control. Thus this largely keeps the pax facing the same direction as where they’re going, which all feels very natural.

The pax in the quadcopter type eVTOL will have to endure turns while pitched downward and moving forwards. In poor visibility this matches the Bárány chair technique (blindfold, spin around and then tilt head forward) that Aeromedical doctors use to categorise a pilot tolerance to air sickness, as ii normally makes even the most hardened veterans barf.

It’s a hell of a investment risk if your customers just find it too unpleasant to step aboard.
Click to expand...
A simple solution could be mounting the seats backwards inclined, so that you are on an horizontal level during the flight.
 
Many of those design will be vomit comets. See their flight profile, crampiness of cabin, flight attitude and motion.

The fact that many of them doesn't have even a double skinned airframe in order to save weight, while deemed for public transportation and not private ownership, would make them easy prey to degradations (volontary or not) that will shorten flight worthiness.

If you have a thing with main cities streets being literally littered with broken E-bike, rejoice.
 
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Or in Marseille, where some assholes are holding contests: throwing "self service electric scooters" into the port... I kid you not.
 
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www.ainonline.com

Textron Powers Up Advanced Air Mobility Portfolio | AIN

Textron Aviation is building a strong portfolio of new electric and autonomous aircraft, including the redesigned Nexus eVTOL model.
www.ainonline.com www.ainonline.com

verticalmag.com

Textron eAviation’s Rob Scholl on the status of the Nexus eVTOL aircraft

Rob Scholl, Textron eAviation’s CEO and president, shares an update on the Nexus eVTOL program and his outlook for the advanced air mobility industry.
verticalmag.com verticalmag.com

It looks like Textron has brought their stalled evtol project back to life and the first flight is expected in 3 or 4 years. Interesting to note that they're abandoning a hybrid approach and going to a fully electric design for the first prototype.

"The entry-into-service date is dependent on technology and regulatory development, as well as batteries, motors, and operations."

So there's no guarantee this aircraft might make it to market. Just like Embraer, if the business case looks flimsy they will just cut their losses and pull the plug.
 
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Not sure if this link has been provided before or not:

Newsletters

The Electric VTOL News™ eNewsletter started in 2016 as a means to inform the attendees of the VFS Transformative Vertical Flight Workshops a
evtol.news
 
dronedj.com

When will drone delivery actually make sense? Here’s what McKinsey cost model predicts

How much does a single drone delivery cost? Can drone delivery actually replace other modes of transportation?
dronedj.com dronedj.com

www.mckinsey.com

Drones take to the sky, potentially disrupting last-mile delivery

As the technology matures, regulation evolves, and business models emerge, drones could become as cost-effective for package delivery as traditional transport modes.
www.mckinsey.com www.mckinsey.com

An interesting analysis of the challenges delivery drones face in order to make their usage economically feasible.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1614280037909381120
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/skysideup/status/1614280037909381120


www.chinadaily.com.cn

Chinese manufacturer ready for big takeoff with AAVs

EHang Holdings Ltd, a Chinese manufacturer of autonomous aerial vehicles, is stepping up efforts to bolster the commercial operation of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in the fields of passenger transportation, logistics and smart city management, as well as expand its presence in...
www.chinadaily.com.cn www.chinadaily.com.cn

Looks like the Ehang evtol is about to cross the finish line and obtain a type certificate from Chinese regulators. I guess these machines will soon become a common sight in the skies around major cities in China.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1610811573546938370
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/ehang/status/1610811573546938370
 
I would suggest investing in cable cars, as those are the most logical competitor to this design and have better chances of achieving the former promises...

Metrocablemed.jpg
 
airframe.substack.com

Interview with Mark Moore, CEO of Whisper Aero

We’re still in the Model T era of eVTOL engineering
airframe.substack.com airframe.substack.com

An interesting interview that provides a frank assessment of the urban mobility market. He makes an interesting observation regarding the total lack of transparency when it comes to China's regulatory environment.
 
TomcatViP said:
I would suggest investing in cable cars, as those are the most logical competitor to this design and have better chances of achieving the former promises...

Metrocablemed.jpg
Click to expand...

Well, in a sense, when they load their batteries on the ground EVTOLs are "cable planes" - so maybe there will be a new cable war (after HBO vs Netflix)
But if they fight using cables as weapons... there will blood all over the airspace.
 
www.aerosociety.com

The Trolley Problem and autonomous flight - Royal Aeronautical Society

If an autonomous eVTOL has a catastrophic in-flight failure, should the AI prioritise the safety of its passengers or those on the ground? Dr ROBERT E JOSLIN FRAeS, Associate Professor, College of Aeronautics, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University discusses the ‘trolley problem’ and asks how AI...
www.aerosociety.com www.aerosociety.com

An interesting issue that proponents of autonomous flight have to consider.
 
ha ha excellent ! Good point. Although I can't see Robur hauling scores of tourists from rooftoops to rooftops. He had bolder plans for world domination with the Albatross.
 
Well he would start by controlling urban mobility while not being beholden to the energy industry. With the profits from his electric transportation he could build rockets that would allow him to develop a world communications system to use in conjunction with his mass media side program to control the narrative. Then he could use his improved spaceship to seize another planet and leave us losers behind.
That's how I think JV would write his science fiction today.
 
alberchico said:
electrek.co

First electric air taxi takes flight around New York City

Blade Air Mobility and BETA Technologies announced Tuesday that they successfully tested the first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL),...
electrek.co electrek.co

Worth noting that the prototype still has not transitioned into vertical flight after all this time.
Click to expand...

Indeed no transition yet. I wonder what's the reason. Apparently they did a lot of CTOL operations and a few hover tests as well.
 

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The cabin is fairly small. I hope that this is not a 1:1 demonstrator!

Notice also how they patched the botched landing gear...
 

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