The dream of flying cars that can zoom over urban traffic is a persistent one. Perhaps the most organized “urban air mobility” effort is the Uber Elevate Network, the “future of aerial ride-sharing.” Uber is working with partners like vehicle designers, manufacturers, infrastructure providers and regulators to begin testing vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles “as early as 2020.” Riders are to get the “option of an affordable shared flight” by 2023.
Since the pandemic has an effect on the aviation industry and On Uber, are these positive dates feasible? “We believe it’s more vital for our cars to go into service when situations are right for the vehicle and ecosystem,” says Andre Stein, chief strategy officer at EmbraerX, an Uber Elevate spouse who recently introduced an eVTOL simulator, (you can drive “here.” Stain adds: “We are looking to follow the right steps not to expand a vehicle that might not be suitable for primary urban transport issues like noise.”
If they do start flying by 2023, eVTOL aircraft will not just start autonomously buzzing around world cities. Work to be done includes modifying or creating updated urban air traffic management (UATM) systems, developing simulators that can accurately mimic the behavior of a new generation of vertical and horizontal flight vehicles, and obviously, designing, building and testing the eVTOL vehicles. EmbraerX aim to be a player in all these areas.
Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer is probably best known for its regional E-Jets, 70 to 130 seat aircraft used. EmbraerX is a subsidiary dedicated to creating disruptive innovations such as eVTOL aircraft and urban air mobility.
Although a prototype has not yet been shown, EmbraerX announced a concept vehicle some call the DreamMaker.
Luiz Valentini, Engineering Manager at EmbraerX, say the vehicle will offer a “lift plus cruise configuration. The design is said to have an 8-rotor configuration to take off and land vertically, plus a set of pusher propellers for fixed wing forward flight. The eVTOL will be battery-powered and all-electric.
It will fly initially with a single pilot with some degree of autonomy. As Valentini puts it, “No one is capable of manually adjusting 8 rotors at once.” Instead, it utilizes Embraer fly by wire technology. Designed for four passengers and a pilot (replaceable by a passenger when full autonomy arrives) or 1000-pound payload, it will have a range of up to 60 miles.
Embraer X recently effectively completed its first simulator flight in Sao José dos Campos, Brazil, starting with the progression of its eVTOL program.
The technical progression simulator is designed to reflect a real-world operating environment to safely boost the Embraer X flight verification campaign. The eVTOL simulator provides a human-machine interface and incorporates realistic flight situations and flight configurations, adding Embraer’s electric flights. Interestingly, Embraer says the simulator was created in conjunction with experienced verification pilots and relatively new pilots, as the target is a relatively undeniable operation employing two rounds or “scepters”. –
Embraer X is one of the “world’s most advanced aircraft manufacturers” working with Uber Elevate to expand eVTOL aircraft designed to share air. But for Embraer, urban air mobility (UAM) means either air on demand urban that brings passengers like Elevate, as well as programs such as shipping goods in a metropolitan area.
The local air vehicle has been around for a long time. As early as the 1950s, Los Angeles Airways carried passengers to Southern California. One of the most popular destinations was Disneyland. If Uber Elevate take off, the vertical flight to Los Angeles will return, as Los Angeles, along with Dallas and Melbourne, have been selected as the original city.
“The old style was a traditional helicopter, but today we share styles like Blade, providing more available value for a wider audience,” says David Rottblatt, Project Manager for Urban Air Traffic Management at EmbraerX.
To create Air Navigation Systems (ANS) for eVTOL aircraft, it will not be necessary to reinvent the wheel. Embraer, through its ownership of Atech, which provides air traffic control software and hardware, is working with Air Navigation Service providers to create an environment where eVTOLs can successfully operate.
“An SNA can be built on helicopter routes, at least initially, based on Embraer’s existing air traffic products,” Rottblatt says. “Our products have recently managed 22 million square kilometers of airspace in Brazil.” Sao Paulo, for example, “already has a strong air taxi market with more than 1,200 daily flights; everything you want to start is in place,” Rotblatt says.
However, Rottblatt added that existing helicopter routes for the air taxi market are sometimes not as direct as those required for eVTOL aircraft. These might want to fly more directly over cities because of their limited autonomy.
For self-driving cars (much more complicated and flight-friendly) to operate in the real world, urban air traffic control (UATM) systems will want to be followed in each city, as defined in EmbraerX’s 2030 flight plan. After all, no one needs a self-employed vehicle to land in their home.
I have won several journalism awards and my writings have been published in The Los Angeles Times, American Way, Southwest Airlines Spirit, Successful Meetings and
I have won several journalism awards and my writings have been published in The Los Angeles Times, American Way, Southwest Airlines Spirit, Successful Meetings and United Hemispheres. At home, at headquarters, I have a handful of credit cards, I’ve spent over six months of my life in Las Vegas hotels, and I’ve edited extensively around the world. However, one of my favorite destinations is Independence, KS, a small giant american town, where my paintings as a playwright were held at the William Inge Festival.