Eve Air Mobility and Flexjet have collaborated to perform a preliminary software simulation of Eve’s innovative Urban ATM system. By conducting user testing and gathering feedback on the software’s interface.
Eve Air Mobility (“Eve”) and Flexjet, the world leader in private aviation, have partnered to accomplish a significant milestone in the development of Urban Air Mobility (UAM). The businesses have collaborated to perform a preliminary software simulation of Eve’s innovative Urban ATM (Urban Air Traffic Management) system. By conducting user testing and gathering feedback on the software’s interface and industry value, the initiative verified and improved the product.
The simulation, which took place over four days this month at Flexjet’s Tactical Control Centre at Farnborough Airport, UK, involved Eve’s Urban ATM software shadowing live helicopter flights operated by Flexjet’s UK helicopter division. Given that London is one of the leading helicopter markets in the world and a major focus for future eVTOL operations, these kinds of services will be crucial to enabling future UAM operations. One of Eve’s Urban ATM Fleet Operator clients is Flexjet, which has an 11-helicopter fleet in the United Kingdom.
Leading UK helicopter operator Flexjet, which works closely with Eve’s Urban ATM team, donated its fleet of helicopters for the flights. Additional feedback was provided by London Heliport and NATS, the top air traffic control service provider in the UK, to support the initiative and make sure Eve’s solution will benefit everyone involved in the UAM ecosystem.
Johann Bordais, CEO of Eve said, “This collaboration with Flexjet represents a significant step forward in our efforts to advance urban air mobility. We are committed to exploring innovative solutions that will enhance current operations and contribute to the future of urban flights.”
The initiative covered a range of operational activities, such as standard business operations, atypical scenarios, and flights customised to meet the unique requirements of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This allowed for the demonstration of product behaviour in a variety of real-world scenarios. The test’s main objectives were to integrate vertiports to manage resources efficiently and to validate and verify a subset of the Urban ATM product’s capabilities, with a focus on the UAM fleet operator support tool.
Eli Flint, Flexjet President of Global Helicopter Operations, said, “We were delighted to provide Flexjet’s UK helicopter expertise and to play a key role in forging the UAM ecosystem of tomorrow, helping to inform the movements of the next generation of vertical aircraft. Flexjet is dedicated to advancing the aviation solutions that will meet our customers’ needs over the coming years, and we are excited by the potential of eVTOLs for seamless and sustainable electric short-range flights.”
Through this partnership, Eve hoped to shed light on the services needed to support safe and effective eVTOL operations in the future. Examining whether these new services might be immediately beneficial for current helicopter operations was another goal. Eve and Flexjet will analyse the results of the simulation and talk about suggestions for enhancements, modifications, and possible integration needs. The businesses will keep looking into ways to integrate current software tools even more, which will help to maximise the potential of the Urban ATM solution.
In addition to having a more cost-effective design than existing helicopter operations, electric UAM can make urban flights more affordable for communities. It also requires less maintenance and upkeep. By maximising the use of aeroplanes and vertiports, Eve’s Urban ATM solutions will assist in this and further cut operating expenses.
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This creative partnership between Eve and Flexjet demonstrates their dedication to influencing urban air mobility and offering cost-effective, environmentally friendly solutions for urban transport in the future.
