vertiport Archives

Startup AirNova envisions France-wide eVTOL vertiport network

Bruce Crumley - Dec. 15th 2022 7:22 am PT @BDroneDJ

The small French AirNova startup has ambitious plans for lifting the nation’s ground transportation into the skies with emerging electric takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL), and is currently looking to raise funds for its project to build a network of multipurpose vertiports across France. The Bordeaux-based company is focused on achievable goals it believes will help it work toward its broader, nation-spanning ambitions. To that end, in October AirNova announced its campaign to raise $3.2 million for business development – a seemingly modest sum in a wider eVTOL sector attracting billions in investment at a time, but sufficient for the startup to rev up its vertiport plans. Those involve building a series of elevated aerial facilities based on its patented design, and make those available to a variety of operators, including air taxis, cargo transport, last mile delivery drones, and craft used by medical and emergency services. Read: First crewed eVTOL air taxi test flight at Rome AAM vertiport debut Several established and considerably larger groups are already at work creating that kind of infrastructure, including Skyports, Volocopter’s ground services unit, and even the Urban Blue company backed by a collective of airport operators in Italy and southern France. But AirNova CEO Laurent Mathionlon believes the particular experience of his small team, and their intimate knowledge of French urban, social, and business workings give them the assets to punch far above their weight – and carve out a solid foothold in emerging air transport services. AirNova is currently doing studies on about 10 vertiport test sites, and is developing its proprietary design concept to fully meet the needs of eVTOL manufacturers the company consults with. The model is based on an elevated structure whose lower floors will be used for travel functions – reception, check-in, waiting areas, etc. – and whose roof is outfitted with two landing pads and a pair of recharging and maintenance spots. While that may not be radically different from the approach other vertiport companies are taking in developing eVTOL infrastructure, AirNova is already thinking well beyond individual or single-city strategies, and envisioning a nation-wide network built from region-conntecting installations. In addition to inner-urban goods and passenger transport covering distances of 10 to 30 km, AirNova vertiports aim to create links between more remote cities and regions with eVTOL flights of 50 to 300 km. As often the case with similar projects, AirNova terminals will serve as hubs to nearby ground transport including buses, subways, and commuter trains. “Our objective is to propose new use values through innovative development… for the benefit of our customers who will operate on-site,” explains Mathiolon, a veteran in French real estate management who in recent years has been specializing in eVTOL opportunities in the field. “For over three years I’ve been working on a new form of air mobility, using our patented AirNova design to develop vertiport infrastructure in France, then in Europe, for drone transport of both goods and people.” Will it work with so many larger competitors already in full stride? AirNova believes so, and continues recruiting business angels, institutional investors, and even eVTOL craft makers like Airbus, with which it consults in developing its vertiport project. Read: UAM partnership to promote Airbus eVTOL air taxis in Italy Meanwhile, opportunities remain fairly promising for forward-thinking companies in France, where infrastructure construction for next-generation aircraft isn’t exactly ahead of the curve, despite the nation expected to host the world’s first air taxi services during the Paris 2024 Olympics. AirNova eVTOL vertiports

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The French AirNova startup has ambitious plans for lifting the nation’s ground transportation into the skies with emerging electric takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL), and is currently looking to raise funds for its project to build a network of multi-purpose vertiports across France.

Skyports inks eVTOL vertiport partnership in Latin America

Bruce Crumley - Dec. 1st 2022 9:26 am PT @BDroneDJ

eVTOL Skyports vertiport Latin America

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UK electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft infrastructure specialist Skyports is teaming up with multinational private airport operator Corporación América Airports (CAAP) to develop a network of vertiports across Latin America.

Groupe ADP lands eVTOL vertiport deal from Abu Dhabi

Bruce Crumley - Nov. 9th 2022 4:05 am PT @BDroneDJ

air taxis eVTOL vertiport

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France’s Groupe ADP, the public company that manages all of Paris’s airports, is moving to broaden its more recent activities in vertiport development through a deal to create infrastructure for air taxis and other electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Abu Dhabi.

FAA releases AAM vertiport guidelines for future air taxi operations

Bruce Crumley - Sep. 27th 2022 1:22 am PT @BDroneDJ

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)Drone Regulations AAM vertiport

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued its first set of guidelines on the construction and layout of future vertiports, providing a critical basis of uniformity for developers of advanced air mobility (AAM) services and infrastructure to work from.

Aussie Skyportz’s vertiport database reflects global UAM ambitions

Bruce Crumley - Sep. 15th 2022 4:38 am PT @BDroneDJ

Australia UAM Air-Taxi vertiport Skyportz

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Just a week after Australian vertiport company Skyportz announced its plans to create the country’s first network of air taxi terminals in Melbourne, the company unveiled a database analyzing and cataloguing potential spots for urban air mobility (UAM) infrastructure worldwide.

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Skyportz unveils Oz’s first network of air taxi and UAM vertiports

Bruce Crumley - Sep. 13th 2022 3:21 am PT @BDroneDJ

Australia air taxis UAM vertiport

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Australian advanced urban mobility (UAM) infrastructure company Skyportz has unveiled plans to create the first series of air taxi vertiports in the country.