Posts by Dave Clarke
That’s a Wrap! Transformative Vertical Flight 2020
With 60 invited speakers, 60 technical paper presentations, and record-breaking attendance, the Vertical Flight Society (VFS) wrapped up its Transformative Vertical Flight 2020 conference and the 7th Annual Electric VTOL Symposium in San Jose, CA, January 23rd. The event informed industry professionals where eVTOLs are today, where the industry is headed, and what challenges remain…
Uber and Hyundai Debut Full-Scale Air Taxi Model at CES
Hello, world. Welcome the S-A1, a personal air vehicle (PAV), which debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 6, 2020. Uber Elevate, the urban air mobility unit of ride-sharing leader, Uber, and Hyundai, South Korea’s auto manufacturing behemoth, presented a full-scale model (shown here) of the eVTOL they are developing in Las Vegas. While…
Ice Ice Baby
Good for Rappers, Bad for eVTOLs Back in 1990, hip-hop/rap artist Vanilla Ice (real name Robert Matthew Van Winkle) extolled the virtues of ice, or at least vanilla ice (aka himself). The song was a huge success, but speak to Jim Sherman and Mike Hirschberg, director of strategic development and executive director at the Vertical…
PAL-V, Buy Now, Fly Later
What are you waiting for? PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle), a Netherlands-based manufacturer of – call it what you will, an autogiro, a gyroplane, a flying car – has announced it is taking orders in the US for its Pioneer Edition, a limited production run of 90 vehicles. Some 70 of the vehicles have…
Transformative Vertical Flight 2020 Conference January 2020 in San Jose, CA
Recent market studies commissioned by NASA and several financial investment and analysis companies have caused major players in the mainstream aerospace industry to reverse course on their earlier dismissive attitudes about the eVTOL sector when it was first emerging in 2011-2016. The research suggests that as many as 100,000 eVTOL aircraft will be in commercial…
Airbus Embraces Flying Taxis
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said the company is “very serious” about developing flying taxis. Faury noted that the human population is projected to increasingly concentrate in urban areas. It will grow from the current 50 percent to 60 percent by 2030 and 70 percent by 2050. The European airplane maker sees this as a business…