{"id":13933,"date":"2021-02-20T16:39:40","date_gmt":"2021-02-20T23:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=13933"},"modified":"2021-02-20T16:39:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-20T23:39:40","slug":"landing-zones-for-all-those-evtols-and-ecstols","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/landing-zones-for-all-those-evtols-and-ecstols\/","title":{"rendered":"Landing Zones for All Those eVTOLs (and eCSTOLs)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Siting \u00a0and Building Considerations at the 2019 SAS<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As we see an inrush of capital to finance new electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) machines and now electric Conventional Short Take Off and Landing (eCSTOL) machines, we are on the cusp of seeing newly envisioned landing zones for these machines.\u00a0 With the departure of Uber from the aerial scene, we probably won\u2019t see the grandiose platforms the firm promoted.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Uber’s urban air mobility landing zones were perhaps a bit grandiose, meant to “hype” future plans.\u00a0 One wonders if neighbors would be happy with up to 1,800 planned passengers per hour adding ground traffic to the area.<\/p><\/div>\n

Your editor poked fun at these visions in his talk at the 2019 Sustainable Aviation Symposium at UC Berkeley, doubting that urban centers would welcome hundreds of arrivals and departures overhead day and night.<\/p>\n

Luckily, presenters who had worked on real-world re-imaginings of Uber\u2019s grander vision helped talk your editor down.\u00a0 Byron Thurber, an ARUP<\/a> architect, discussed \u201cA Practical and Sustainable Transit Hub for Urban Air Mobility \u2013the Uber Elevate Skyport.\u201d\u00a0 Following LEEDS, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design criteria, the sustainable building would retrofit an existing parking garage at the edge of the downtown core.\u00a0 Formed from sustainable building materials, it would support landings and takeoffs for eVTOLs and, \u201c\u2026function as a true transit hub, providing accommodation for a network of other modes, including e-bikes, e-scooters, electric cars, and\u2026 rideshares.\u201d\u00a0 The vision was considerably more restrained than that of Uber’s corporate futurism.<\/p>\n

Darrel Swanson, Director of the Swanson Aviation Consultancy<\/a>, held that, \u201cUAM will succeed in areas where the noise control is achieved, high capacity vertiports can operate, and certification obstacles are solved.\u201d<\/p>\n

With competing needs for safety, quiet, and access creating problems for downtown cores, Dr. Jasenka Rakas<\/a>, Co-Chair of SAS 2019, UC Berkeley CEE Faculty, and Board Member of the Sustainable Aviation Foundation suggested \u201cAir Piers for Urban Air Mobility.\u201d\u00a0 Using waterfront locations to position landing zones, air operations would be less likely to draw the ire of local residents.\u00a0 Her talk highlighted the many alternatives possible, including Vertiports and Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) facilities, Skyports, converted helipads and piers. Retrofitted rooftops and garages, and new structures above highways and highway intersections.\u00a0 All of these would have the benefits of existing roads and transit means leading to them.<\/p>\n

Short-Range Drop-In Sites<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Electric-Flight.eu reports<\/a> that Hyundai and Urban Airport, an aptly-named startup, are partnering to build a Air One in Coventry, England.\u00a0 Air One is a pre-fabricated, squat truncated cone that will provide shelter for, launch and retrieve Hyundai\u2019s SA 1.\u00a0 This transportable unit can be taken elsewhere as demands for drop-in air service change.\u00a0 Others involved in the project include the city and University of Coventry, the drone company Maloy Aeronautics, but also Hyundai Motor Groups themselves<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=av9kA8gGyWI<\/p>\n

In somewhat marked contrast to a year ago, Hyundai\u2019s immediate vision seems to have contracted to more immediately plausible levels.<\/p>\n