News

NASA’s National Campaign

• 27 Apr 2020 08:10 PM
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In 2015, NASA began a four-year project to provide guidance for low-altitude (under 500 ft/150 m) air traffic management for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This UAS Traffic Management (UTM) project set out to define all aspects of lowaltitude traffic management including airspace management and geo-fencing, weather and wind, predict and manage congestion, terrain and man-made objects and safe separation. The program provided problem sets with increasing complexity, from unpopulated land (UTM-1) to autonomous, beyond visual line-ofsight, urban operations (UTM-4).

VFS Supports UAM Symposium at Ohio State

• 27 Apr 2020 08:35 AM
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On Feb. 27, experts from around the country descended on Columbus, Ohio, for the Inaugural Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Symposium at The Ohio State University. With some 200 attendees representing academia, government and industry, the event was a major success and looks to be a catalyst for the future of aerial mobility in the state of Ohio. George Valcarcel, of the OSU Battelle Center for Science, Engineering and Public Policy, was symposium’s lead organizer and master of ceremonies.

The Electric VTOL Revolution webinar

• 14 Apr 2020 10:29 AM
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VFS Executive Director Mike Hirschberg presented a webinar, "The Electric VTOL Revolution," for the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) on April 14, 2020. See the ACMA webinar notice.

Skydrive Conducts Manned Flights, Moves Forward With Nobuo Kishi At The Helm

• 04 Apr 2020 08:32 PM
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SkyDrive Press Release, April 4, 2020:

Skydrive Conducts Manned Flights, Moves Forward With Nobuo Kishi At The Helm

• Japan’s first-ever manned test flights of a flying car^*1 completed by SkyDrive
• Nobuo Kishi appointed as Chief Technology Officer
• Kishi will lead the development and certification to take the product to market in 2023

Lilium Completes $240M Funding Round

• 25 Mar 2020 10:24 AM
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Munich-based Lilium GmbH announced on March 23, 2020 that is had completed an internal funding round worth more than $240M. The round was led by Tencent, with participation from other existing investors including Atomico, Freigeist and LGT.

The new funds bring the total sum raised to date to more than $340M. The company said the additional funds will be used to support further development of the Lilium Jet as well as underpinning preparations for serial production in Lilium's newly-completed manufacturing facilities.

Glossary

• 20 Mar 2020 10:56 PM
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Glossary of Terms

Advanced Vertical Flight Technical Committee Highlights

• 09 Mar 2020 08:46 PM
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We have restarted our regular series highlighting the activities of our 22 technical committees. Interested in joining or finding out more? Go to www.vtol.org/tech-committees.

The 2020 International Powered Lift Conference (IPLC) was held in January as part of the Transformative Vertical Flight 2020 Conference. This biennial conference rotates between the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Royal Aeronautical Society, SAE International and VFS.

Urban Air Mobility Steals the Show at CES 2020

• 07 Mar 2020 09:23 PM
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There were plenty of noteworthy announcements about electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developments leading up to the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s largest consumer products trade show, held Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas, Nevada (see for example, “The First Electric VTOL Unicorn: Joby Aviation,” Vertiflite Magazine, Mar/Apr 2020, pg. 48).

XTI Aircraft’s TriFan 600 Development Continues

• 06 Mar 2020 09:54 PM
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XTI Aircraft Company is playing the long game with the ongoing development of its TriFan 600 hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

In the last year, the company — based at Centennial Airport near Denver, Colorado — refined the aircraft’s design, launched flight testing of its large-scale Proof of Concept (POC) vehicle, revitalized its funding program, partnered with a major engine maker, obtained two patents, strengthened upper management and now has a total of 81 orders for its unique aircraft.

Skyryse Says Autonomy Will Let Helicopter Taxis Compete with Ridesharing

• 06 Mar 2020 09:49 PM
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Most stories of air taxis are all about the aircraft — with futuristic visions of multi-rotor, morphing electric vehicles presented by Uber, Boeing, Joby, Airbus, Lilium and many others. Los Angeles-based air taxi startup Skyryse (www.skyryse.com) looks downright dull in comparison, with photos of the humdrum Robinson R44 helicopter — which Skyryse calls the “Toyota Camry of the sky” for its ubiquity and utility.