To those immersed in the world of traditional helicopters, it may take a little time to fully comprehend what Uber Elevate’s on-demand urban air transportation vision actually entails.
At the Forum 73 Grand Awards Banquet, the leaders of the major rotorcraft manufacturers and Uber Technologies’ chief of product development talked about the future of vertical flight. Uber imagines a world where on-demand transportation leverages the vertical dimension to connect people efficiently and affordably through a network of vertiports with electrically-powered VTOL aircraft. A score of companies are now developing one- to four-seat aircraft that could enable achieve this vision. (See “Charging Forward”)
On June 8, 2017, Paul DeLorean, CEO and chief designer at DeLorean Aerospace, unveiled a concept video and illustrations of the two-seat DR-7 electric VTOL.
According to DeLorean, the DR-7 is designed to be a personal commuter aircraft that would have a much broader market appeal than conventional planes and helicopters, due to its high-speed efficiency, VTOL function and autonomous control system.
The 4th Transformative Vertical Flight Workshop kicked off today in Denver, Colorado as part of AIAA AVIATION 2017's Transformational Electric Flight Workshop.
Uber Technologies hosted its Elevate Summit on April 25-27, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. According to the company, the intent was that: "Leaders from vehicle manufacturing, regulatory bodies, venture capital, and aviation technology will share research and plans for a path forward, and your participation is crucial. We encourage representatives from relevant industries, research institutions and regulatory bodies to join us."
Zee Aero continues manned flight-testing of its full-scale eVTOL aircraft in forward flight at Hollister Municipal Airport, about 50 statute miles (80 km) southeast of its offices in Mountain View, California. The company continues its silence, but more details have been leaking out. According to public US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database information, the aircraft has the registration number N102XZ.
At the AERO Friedrichshafen trade show in Germany, e-volo GmbH announced its second eVTOL model: “After six years of development, e-volo is presenting the Volocopter 2X … powered purely by electricity and capable of carrying 2 passengers.” The 2X is refined over the previous VC200 demonstrator.
Uber has partnered with ChargePoint to develop charging solutions that will fit any vertical take-off and landing vehicle (VTOL) manufactured. Chargepoint will design, develop, and manufacture these solutions for utilization at Uber Elevate Vertiports by 2020.
Uber plans to operate a network through which electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (VTOL) in numerous cities worldwide, including Dallas-Fort Worth, will provide transportation and delivery logistics services. Uber has partnered with Hillwood on a key piece of creating an Uber Elevate network in the Metroplex. Hillwood will exclusively develop and construct vertiports for a future Uber Elevate network throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Hillwood will be Uber’s first US real estate partner in this initiative.
Uber has signed a partnership with Pipistrel Aircraft producer for large-scale deployment of electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (VTOLs) in order to fulfill its mission of providing a safe, reliable transportation service to everyone, everywhere. The goal of this partnership is to enable users of a future Uber Elevate Network to request an Pipistrel electric VTOL.
