Welcome to Go Above Traffic.

The eVTOL newsletter that has you feeling smarter than when you get three answers in row watching Jeopardy.

Quick quote from the skeptics to kick things off this week…

"No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris… [because] no known motor can run at the requisite speed for four days without stopping.

• Orville Wright, 1908

  (He’s one of the Wright Brothers who invented the plane)

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh's successful flew from New York to Paris.

So when luddites say eVTOLs wont work - they’re too loud, battery technology isn’t quite there, no passengers will get into an oversized drone, etc. - point them to Orville Wright.

Now let’s get into it.

What you need to know in eVTOLs this week

Eve Air

The Brazilian subsidiary of Embraer, Eve Air, showed off its first eVTOL prototype at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK.

They went with eight dedicated propellers for vertical flight and fixed wings to fly in cruise, with no change in the position of these components during flight

They’re is assembling the aircraft in a test facility in Gaviao Peixoto, in Sao Paulo.

Eve says that have letters of intent for 2,900 so they’ll be want to move quickly towards certification. Next up is years of comprehensive tests to assess the aircraft’s operation and performance, from its flight capabilities to safety features.

EHang

Pilotless eVTOLs are selling like Chinese hot cakes.

KC Smart Mobility, one of Hong Kong’s largest transportation companies, plans to purchase a total of 30 eVTOLs from EHang to be deployed in Hong Kong, Macau, Xiangyang and Shiyan China.

In 2023, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) accepted the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) applications submitted e Ehang, so they are off to the races.

Counterpoint to EHang’s success from Archer’s founder, Brett Adcock here:

Supernal

Supernal debuted a demonstrator of their eVTOL at the Farnborough Airshow.

Which begs the question - what the hell is a demonstrator?

It basically what some companies build before a the actual prototype…

“Non-functional props that communicate a product's possibilities, marketability, and how people and organizations react to it.”

“We want to push the limits of the technology with the demonstrator to see what is feasible for entry into service in 2028,” said Supernal CEO Jaiwon Shin.

“We’re doing this before we go straight to a prototype because we can mature some systems like the flight controls and energy storage, and it also builds our teamwork.”

Vertical Aerospace

UK based Vertical Aerospace announced that testing on its most advanced eVTOL has started with initial powered ground tests.

These include the successful testing of propeller balancing that measure the weight distribution of each propeller blade to ensure vibrations are minimized.

The goal is to quickly get to the ‘wheels up’ phase with tethered flight tests before progressing to low-speed untethered flights, once it has been issued its Permit to Fly from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Wisk Aero

Boeing Air Taxi subsidiary, Wisk Aero, announced they are working to develop an air taxi network in Australia by the 2032 Olympics Games.

They’ve partnered with vertiport developer Skyports to pick out hubs for the air taxi across the South East Queensland region, home to an estimated 4 million people.

The partners said they will study regional travel patterns, conduct feasibility studies, and speak with local communities about what to expect from the service.

Hopefully they have better luck than European based Volocopter, who aimed and failed to have an air taxi network set up in Paris by this year’s Summer Olympics in Paris.

The Markets

Or “The Casino” if you prefer the Wall Street Bets mentality…

Weekly it’s a mix.

Year to date, it’s way way down.

Next week, no one knows.

That’s a little thing called a haiku. We’re broadening our horizons to Japanese poetry in the midst of market analysis.

The $100K Life Savings Bet

Americans have so much natural entrepreneurial drive. The caveat is that it is technology that should be a tool making lives better in the real world, and in line with the American spirit of getting better and better at something, whether it's curing cancer or creating a better taxi service.

— Michael Burry

If you haven’t heard of Michael Burry, he’s the guy that Christian Bale portrayed in The Big Short.

If you haven’t seen the Big Short, I’m surprised you’re reading this newsletter.

Either way - Burry is personally worth hundreds of millions of dollars, he’s a licensed medical doctor and his Hedge Fund, Scion Capital, made over half a billion dollars in the 2008 crash.

Safe to say, he knows a thing or two about making money.

With my $100K life savings bet on Joby, it makes me feel better that eVTOLs check an important box for Burry - they will make lives better in the real world.

So are we in the money?!

Yep.

We are up $18,000. A bit down from last week but being up overall is nothing to complain about.

There might be some regression to the mean and we end up down a bit more in the next couple weeks.

But we are in a healthy spot so we’ll get comfortable as we ride this out long term.

Lighten Up

Warning: Investing in eVTOLs may upset the natural order. Your profit may allow you to secure a genetically superior mate. You will know it too. Look at that smile. Peak investment performance.

Credit to @AutismCapital

Final Question

What celebrity would be the best spokesperson for eVTOLs?

— best reply gets a shoutout next week.

Best Answer From Last Week

I asked “What’s the main reason you will or will not use eVTOLs as soon as they’re available?”

Best reply came from James in South Africa:

“If you’ve ever sat Jo’burg traffic for 3 hours to get 20 miles, you don’t need another reason to use an eVTOL when they’re available.

There is literally no reason not to use one. That’s like saying you’d prefer a horse and buggy instead of a car.”

Thanks for reading and let us know what you want to see more of next week. We read every single reply.

Stay above.

— The Above Traffic Team