Will helicopters be a thing of the past?

"eVTOLs were so obvious!" - everyone in 2035

May 10, 2024

Enjoy the next 4 minutes learning everything about eVTOLs.

Starting now!

What you need to know in eVTOLs this week

Vertical Aerospace

There is a new Sherriff in town at UK based Vertical Aerospace.

CFO, Stuart Simpson, will step into the role of CEO, relieving Stephen Fitzpatrick, who founded the company, of his day to day duties.

Fitzpatrick is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and once owned a losing F1 Team, so he will certainly find a way to fill his suddenly open schedule.

Prior to his COO role at Vertical, Simpson was at digital security industry and previously held a number of executive roles including interim CEO at Royal Mail (the British Post Office).

They must have a bit more respect for their postal service in the UK.

Lilum

Archer Aviation has United Airlines. Joby Aviation has Delta Airlines. And now Lilium has UrbanLink Air Mobility.

Never heard of UrbanLink Air Mobility?

It’s a newly formed eVTOL operator that just announced an order of 20 Lilium aircraft.

They intend to operate the eVTOL jets out of planned vertiports in South Florida.

Their goal is to form a regional air taxi network by 2026. The initial network will span Miami, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Marco Island.

“While many airlines have discussed the potential of operating eVTOL aircraft, none have made a definitive commitment,” said UrbanLink Founder Ed Wegel. “UrbanLink will be the first airline in the U.S. to integrate eVTOL aircraft into its fleet.

JetsonAero

If things go as planned for Jetson Aero, the picture above will be a familiar scene - a line of personally owned single passenger eVTOLs parked at charging stations.

And Jetson has brought in Stéphan D’haene to make that a reality.

D’haene comes from US Aviation company ICON Aircraft where he served as COO since 2021 but also held several executive positions at record winning light sport aircraft companies, including Blackwing in Swden and Porta Aviation Group in Italy.

At a cost of less than $130K and no pilots license required, the scenario pictured isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

EHang

The battle for supremacy in the desert continues.

Chinese eVTOL maker EHang quietly completed the first autonomous passenger carrying flight in the Middle East.

EHang has plans to launch commercial flights with its pilotless aircraft in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other parts of the Middle East in the near future.

Their foray into the region started last year through a strategic partnership with Wings Logistics Hub, a logistics technology unit under an Abu Dhabi-based investment vehicle with ties to the UAE’s ruling family.

Under the collaboration, EHang will deliver up to 100 of its EH216 series eVTOL vehicles designed for passenger transport, aerial logistics, and firefighting in high-rise buildings.

The Markets

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

If the opinion of the bean counters at Morgan Stanley mean anything to you, I have good news. They’re bullish on EHang.

“We view EHang as a pioneer in the urban air mobility market — with the world’s first type certificate awarded, validated products, and access to a multi-trillion [renminbi total addressable market] in China.”

Cindy Huang - Analyst, Morgan Stanley

The Life Savings Bet

“Put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket."

-Andrew Carnegie, 1885

Carnegie was worth roughly $310 Billion (adjusted for inflation), so he doesn’t have to tell me twice.

All $100K of my eggs are in the Joby basket and we’re watching it closely.

So are we in the money?!

We are Even Stevens, like Shia Labeouf in the early 2000’s Disney show.

And after being down a bit last month, we’ll take it.

Lighten Up

Final Question

What airport lounge should vertiports try to emulate? — best reply gets a shoutout next week.

Best Answer From Last Week

I asked “What country outside the US will have eVTOLs up and running first?”

Best reply came from Brian in California:

“Japan. They perfected vending machines, and bullet trains. Not sure how that’s related exactly but seems like eVTOLs should be pretty easy for them.”

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

Reply

or to participate.