Looping the Loop
Seeking to study eVTOL operations, ground services, passenger journeys, and operator needs, Eve Holding, Inc. will conduct its first North American Urban Air Mobility (UAM) simulation in Chicago, Illinois. Pending the certification of Eve’s promising and hot-selling eVTOL platform, the simulation will utilize helicopters provided by air-transport broker Blade Air Mobility in the stead of actual eVTOL aircraft.
The simulation will be conducted over three weeks, starting with ground tests on 12 September 2022, before proceeding to passenger flights on 14 September. By dint of the simulation, the city of Chicago—that lakeside bastion of big-shoulders and bigger corruption—stands to gain knowledge of the infrastructure required to foster the city’s near-future UAM sector.
Eve co-CEO André Stein states: “Simulating the eVTOL operation in Chicago allows us to study how people will experience this service and understand the entire ecosystem requirements for our product and services, while showcasing the benefit of Urban Air Mobility in one of North America's most prominent and populated cities. We are wrapping up preparations to execute these simulations seamlessly and look forward to helping prepare Chicago for a local zero-emission UAM solution that is quiet, efficient, and sustainable.”
Eve plans to simulate services, infrastructure, and equipment requirements and other facets of eVTOL ground operations at Vertiport Chicago, an extant downtown heliport facility.
In UAM parlance, a vertiport is an area of land or a structure used for the landing, take-off, maintenance, charging, and hangaring of eVTOL vehicles.
Eve vice president of fleet operations Luiz Mauad remarks: "For Eve, it is essential to understand and address, through these projects involving partners and the community, the key challenges associated with the main pillars of the UAM ecosystem. Our proposal brings together all stakeholders and counts on different views and feedback to structure and deliver the best solutions.”
For the Chicago simulation, Eve has formed a consortium of partners, including Blade, Republic Airways, Halo Aviation, Vertiport Chicago, Village of Tinley Park, Village of Schaumburg, ACCIONA, SkyWest, Inc. and Speedbird Aero. A helicopter replicating Eve’s future eVTOL will transport passengers desirous of experiencing the future of commuting by electric aircraft from the Vertiport Chicago facility to helistops located northwest and southwest of Chicago proper. The northwesterly route will connect Vertiport Chicago to Schaumburg Municipal Helistop, while the southwesterly route see passengers transported to Tinley Park Helistop in the Village of Tinley Park.
The first simulated flight of EVE’s eVTOL was conducted by Embraer in the city of Rio de Janeiro in September 2021. The purpose of subject simulation—much as the upcoming Chicago test—was to assess future eVTOL routes and orthodoxies.
As of January 2022, Embraer had signed contracts with seventeen customers for 1,735 eVTOLs valued at $5-billion.
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