Det er fremdeles usikkerhet når det gjelder AAM og eVTOL fordi sertifiseringsforskrifter og luftromproblematikken (ATC) ligger noe frem i tid. Trykket fra investorer og lobbyister er enormt. (Red.)
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Helicopter Business
Leaders Open the Door to eVTOLs
- March 24, 2023, 8:29 AM
Nobo Leasing intends to
add Pipistrel's Nuuva family of eVTOL cargo vehicles to its portfolio. (Photo:
Pipistrel)
Rotorcraft industry leaders addressing
the Helicopter Investor conference this week in London expressed measured
optimism over prospects for the emerging advanced air mobility sector. There
was consensus that new eVTOL aircraft will start to be used for some current
helicopter use cases, albeit most speakers expressed doubt that this will start
happening from 2025, as many of the more bullish market entrants are insisting.
Lobo Leasing is one of a handful of lessors
to have committed to adding eVTOL aircraft, having already made a down payment
for Pipistrel’s planned Nuuva autonomous cargo vehicles. The UK-based
group’s CEO Dan Roberts said that he is ready to make further payments to the
Textron eAviation company with a view to leasing or reselling the Nuuvas to
operators.
“There’s a lot of talk about it [AAM] and
it’s a development play for now,” he commented. “Many investors want returns
today and there is no short-term return from this. We need appraisers to be
able to tell us what the new aircraft will be worth 30 years from now and that
will be necessary to get investors backing eVTOLs.”
Olivier Piot, CEO of Nova Capital—which this
week launched a €50 million ($54 million) private debt fund for light
helicopters—said his company has no plans to invest in eVTOLs. However, he
conceded that their arrival on the market could impact residual values of
existing rotorcraft.
One company that is investing in an AAM
future is Bristow, which has provisional order agreements in place with seven
manufacturers, including Electra, Beta Technologies, Elroy Air, Vertical
Aerospace, Eve Air Mobility, Overair, and Lilium. The helicopter operator’s
CEO, Chris Bradshaw, said it also has as-yet-unannounced deals agreed with
other OEMs and major airlines, and suggested that early eVTOL use cases could
be in regions such as South America and Africa and focused on remotely
piloted cargo flights.
“There will be a role for startups but also
for mature operators like us,” he told the conference. “We have a dozen
different AOCs and employ more than 800 pilots and about the same number of
maintenance technicians. We also have experience of managing operations in
unregulated airspace in places like Surinam, where there is nothing [in terms
of infrastructure].”
Blade Urban Air Mobility is also working on
plans to bring eVTOLs into its network of on-demand operating partners. The
U.S. company went public in 2021 and its president and general counsel, Melissa
Tomkiel, said its main focus will be building air-taxi and medical services in
existing markets such as the New York City metro area, the south of France, and
India.
“We believe eVTOLs can address community
noise concerns [about helicopters] and that will hopefully unlock new landing
infrastructure,” she told conference attendees.
One of the highlights of the Helicopter
Investor event was the unveiling of ambitious plans for a hybrid-powered eVTOL
that would carry up to 40 passengers or 9,900 pounds of cargo. European
startup Lyte Aviation said it expects to build a
full-scale prototype of the tandem tiltwing SkyBus in the next 24
months and have it ready to enter service by 2030.
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