Flying High!
What's happening around the globe with Drones, eVTOL, Air Taxis and the UAV industry.
A Round Up
Hi there!
I hope you're having a great week. It's been an exciting time in the industry with some amazing news and developments. I wanted to share a few highlights with you:
Manhattan To Newark In 10 Minutes
Flying cars keep getting closer. United Airlines’ announced that an air taxi service is coming to New York. The Pier 6 Manhattan Heliport, on the East River close to Wall Street, will move passengers to Newark Liberty International Airport in less than 10 minutes!
(Archer's Maker test vehicle. ARCHER AVIATION)
Flying Around The French Riviera And Italy
Lilium the developer of an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) jet, announced a partnership with GlobeAir. GlobeAir intends to purchase 12 Lilium Jets to provide premium and business eVTOL flights to its customer base in the French Riviera and Italy. But not in the vehicle below 🙂.
(Oto Godfrey and Justin Morton/Wikimedia Commons)
Archer Aviation To Produce 2,000 eVTOLs Annually
California-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Archer Aviation plans to build up to 250 all-electric air taxis in 2025, with an ambitious long-term goal to produce up to 2,000 air vehicles annually starting in 2028.
(Seeking Alpha)
Flying Start
Israeli eVTOL startup Air has completed a minute-long flight with its Air One flying car. The 1,100 kg eVTOL was loaded to full capacity and after it took off it transitioned to nominal cruising speed. Air intends to complete FAA certification.
(Tech Story)
Skyports eVTOL Vertiport Partnership In LATAM
UK electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft infrastructure specialist Skyports is teaming up with multinational private airport operator Corporación América Airports (CAAP) to develop a network of vertiports across Latin America.
(EASA)
NEOM Invests $175m In Volocopter
NEOM, the smart and sustainable regional development in northwest Saudi Arabia, has announced a $175 million Series E investment in Volocopter, the pioneer of Urban Air Mobility. The land of the future giga-project will take a significant equity stake in the company as part of its strategic engagement with the global eVTOL industry, positioning it as a leader in future mobility solutions.
(volocopter.com)
Meituan Launches Drone Food Delivery in Shanghai
When Meituan receives the customer’s order, the system will inform a delivery person to pick up the goods from the merchant and send them to the drone departure area. After packing the goods, the drone will send the goods to the community distribution station according to the route planned by the system. Consumers can go to the community distribution station to pick up the goods by scanning the code with their smartphones. This seems like a very circuitous route to getting the goods.
During flight times, the Meituan drones will remain below 120 meters with their speed as fast as 20m/s. It can deliver goods within 15 minutes after the user places an order, and a special dining box ensures that the food will not leak due to air delivery.
(Tia Gong)
I hope you enjoyed this roundup of industry news. If you have any updates or interesting intel that you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm always happy to include it in the newsletter and give credit where it's due.
Papers & Research Articles (any ones you would like to add?)
A Method to Measure and Model Acoustic Emissions of Multicopters