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Updated June 11th, 2021 at 15:04 IST

'Inevitable future': Flying Taxis can poach commercial planes, says Aircraft Lessor Avolon

VA-X4 is set to be world’s first certified winged all-electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) flying taxi that will start the commercial flights in 2024.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Flying Taxis
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One of the world’s biggest aircraft owners and Irish aircraft leasing firm Avolon has stated that the pioneering affordable electric aviation, the revolutionary ‘flying taxi’ will poach the commercial passenger aircraft. As the VA-X4 is set to be the world’s first certified winged all-electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft that will start the commercial flights in 2024,  several prominent aviation groups including American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic have struck a deal to purchase 1,000 of these Vertical Aerospace’s flying shuttles. 

In a major boon for the aviation sector, these flying taxis VA-X4 will take off at cruise speeds of 202 mph with a useable range of up to 120 miles. The eVTOL aircraft can transport the passengers from London to Brighton in approximately half an hour. This implies that the passenger planes are in for a major setback once the flying taxis are certified to the same safety standards as commercial airlines. UK’s Vertical Aerospace, the manufacturer of the eVOTL taxis that the Avolon is launching, said in a press release that its ultimate aim is to make the VA-X4 “significantly cheaper” than the traditional flying such as the planes and the helicopter, removing one of the major barriers to environmentally friendly air travel. 

“Prices for air taxi services are initially expected to be between a helicopter flight and a private car, and will decrease as adoption grows,” the firm stated, adding that the demand for “sustainable air travel” is surging and that the eVTOL technology has gained rapid momentum.

According to Morgan Stanley research, the market for these flying shuttles is predicted to reach $1.5 trillion by 2040. In its BluePaper research, the global investment firm said: ‘The autonomous urban aircrafts may no longer be the stuff of comic books,’ citing the automaker Henry Ford’s remarks from the 1940. “Mark my words: a combination airplane and motorcar is coming,” Ford had said.

A cross-section of the firm’s equity analysts found that the investment in autonomous flying taxis is accelerating “with implications for the future of passenger travel, military and defense applications, and freight and package transportation.” A large amount of capital infusion will accelerate autonomous, electrified urban air mobility, the investment bank predicted. 

NASA in 2018 entered the flying taxis industry as it collaborated with eVTOL manufacturers on the next generation of emerging urban aircraft. The space agency partnered with the US Federal Aviation Administration National Campaign (NC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test and certify these new types of aircraft that could make the current passenger planes outdated.

The futuristic-looking, hydrogen-powered air taxi, program was also joined by Joby Aviation, and eVTOL-maker Wisk, and Alaka’I Technologies. NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign has been testing inventive urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles, or the electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) so they can safely interact with other air traffic in the future. 

[Autonomous all-electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL) air taxi. Credit: NASA/Wisk]

The NC also Integrated Dry Run Test in December of flying taxi powered with hydrogen fuel cells. A developmental test will begin this year in 2021 by NASA and its partner Joby Aviation. The air taxi design will include activities such as designing flight scenarios for the participants to fly, exercising range deployment, and data collecting protocols to prepare for NC-1 in 2022.

What are the features of these ‘futuristic urban flying taxis’?

“eVTOL technology will revolutionize travel, combining the safety of commercial airlines with the disruptive environmental and cost benefits of the electrification of flight,” said Michael Cervenka, CEO, Vertical Aerospace."

[Alaka’i Technologies’ vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL) air taxi called Skai is powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Credit: NASA]

The VA-X4 would be a “beautiful vehicle,” as described by Stephane Fymat, Honeywell’s Vice President and General Manager of Urban Air Mobility and Unmanned Aerial Systems that is providing the vehicle management system for the taxi’s prototype. It will bypass road congestion, and will be completely “emission-free”. 

Additional features will be reduced noise pollution – 100x quieter than a helicopter, 15-meter wingspan, 13 meters in length, ensuring it can take off and land from existing helipads, a fly-by-wire flight control systems to make aircraft simple to fly, efficient aerodynamics, enabling it to fly with far less energy and power than a helicopter, a payload capacity of 450kg, EASA-certified design and is powered by Lithium-ion batteries.

 

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Published June 11th, 2021 at 15:04 IST

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