I feel helpless when I am stuck in a traffic jam. I wish my car could fly? The aircraft in science fiction movies are about to come true. Germany's Volocopter has overcome all difficulties and plans to launch an air taxi during the Paris Olympics in July. The new generation prototypes of South Korea's Hyundai Group and Airbus were unveiled at the beginning of this year. The dream of air taxis is not far away, but what consumers want to ask is, how much does a ride cost?
Airbus prototype makes debut
With the rise of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), aircraft manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, and start-up companies have invested in it. The eVTOL "CityAirbus NextGen" prototype developed by Airbus made its debut yesterday (7th) and announced its test flight this year.
Airbus' CityAirbus NextGen debuts in March 2024.
Airbus launches CityAirbus in 2019. The new generation of CityAirbus is an all-electric aircraft that can carry 4 people, has a range of 80 kilometers, and a flight speed of 120 kilometers per hour. It emphasizes low noise and is an eVTOL designed specifically for the transportation needs of big cities.
The Associated Press reported that Eve Air Mobility, a subsidiary of Embraer, the world's third largest aircraft manufacturer, is also developing eVTOL, which is expected to be launched in 2026 and will be able to carry 4 to 6 passengers.
Boeing, a major aircraft manufacturer, completed the test flight of the "PAV" prototype in 2019, but the plan was interrupted. In 2023, Boeing will fully acquire Wisk, a new eVTOL company, and will definitely not be absent from the eVTOL battlefield.
Hyundai Group enters eVTOL commercialization in 2028
After Hyundai Group launched the air taxi "S-A1" for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2020, it continued to launch the "S-A2" at CES in January this year.
The "S-A2" was developed by Hyundai's subsidiary Supernal. It is equipped with eight rotors and can carry one pilot and four passengers. It has a range of 40 to 60 kilometers and is expected to fly by the end of this year.
Supernal says the plane will be as quiet as a dishwasher, with about 65 decibels during vertical takeoff and landing and just 45 decibels in horizontal flight. But it may have to wait until 2028 to reach commercialization cost and safety standards.
How much does a flight cost?
Germany's Volocopter's eVTOL has completed test flights in many countries and is waiting for permission from the Paris authorities to demonstrate air taxi services during the Olympics. However, the general public will have to wait a while before they can hitch a ride into the sky.
Aviation media "Aerotime" took stock of the challenges of eVTOL, including funding, complicated aviation regulatory certification, recruiting and training enough pilots, maintenance costs, etc.
"Aerotime" asked, how is the salary of an air taxi pilot calculated? There are only a limited number of pilots, so if you want to compete with airlines, your salary cannot be too low; aircraft also need regular maintenance, and these costs will be passed on to passengers. In other words, in the early days of air taxi "take-off", only the rich could afford it. Even if we move in the direction of reducing costs and expanding scale in the future, there are still many difficulties to overcome.
Fly to the limited sky
The dream of flying leads people forward. Money may not be an issue, but public acceptance and air control are definitely issues. If Volocopter wants its air taxis to become the highlight of the 2024 Olympics, it must first ask the citizens of Paris.
"Urban Air Mobility" reported that Paris's plan review committee publicly opposed the plan. They were worried about increased air noise, visual interference in the sky, and the safety of passers-by.
The skies will be busy in the future. The Guardian reports that Australia estimates that future air traffic will surge from the current 1.5 million to 60 million. Officials from Airservices Australia bluntly stated that the existing control methods cannot cope with future air traffic and must rely on more automation technology. "After all, the sky range is limited."
References:
*Supernal (2024/01/09), Supernal Debuts eVTOL Product Concept at CES 2024
*Airbus (2024/03/07), CityAirbus NextGen makes its debut
*Associated Press (2024/02/24), Hyundai's Supernal and Embraer-backed Eve Air Mobility see future in electric-powered air taxis
*Aerotime (2023/08/12), eVTOL aircraft: the revolutionary industry that may all end in tears
*Volocopter (2023/06/21), NEOM and Volocopter: First Electric Air Taxi Flight in Saudi Arabia
*Volocopter (2024/02/29), Volocopter Receives Green Light for VoloCity Serial Production
*AFP (2024/01/16), Volocopter flying taxi seeks to seduce Paris
Source: Environmental Information Center
