One of Japan’s leading manufacturers of eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) air taxis is exploring operations out of expressway rest stops and parking areas.
With their ability to take off vertically like a helicopter, eVTOL models do not require a runway, opening up operations beyond traditional airports and heliports. SkyDrive, the developer of a two-passenger air taxi, is working with the West Nippon Expressway Company (Nexco West) to extend air transport to the side of the highway or freeway.
By spacing vertiports in 10- or 15-mile intervals along Nexco West’s network of expressway sites, SkyDrive believes it can “create added value and contribute to the regional development” of local communities. The company is initially exploring aerial sightseeing trips. Ultimately, it envisions the expressway air taxi links ferrying commuters, as well as offering emergency services a way to quickly assess car crashes, earthquakes, and other disasters from the sky.
“Adding air mobility services to the shopping and other facilities already on offer will add to the appeal of this highway infrastructure, turning these already busy waystations into a gateway to the skies,” said Tomohiro Fukuzawa, CEO of SkyDrive, in a statement. “SkyDrive’s air mobility services will not only be able to increase value for tourists through sightseeing flights, they may also help provide peace of mind to local residents through a future role in post-disaster recovery.”
In the U.S., eVTOL manufacturers are partnering with airports, heliports, and FBOs—or acquiring them outright—to establish the infrastructure for their operations. The FAA’s Engineering Brief 105A (EB 105A) provides the most complete design guidance available to developers of vertiports, or electrified takeoff and landing sites. But more research is needed to understand the effects of downwash and outwash.
Many American rest stops already house rows of electric automobile chargers and connections to power sources. Store parking lots are increasingly home to drone delivery operations. These too could be vertiport candidates for SkyDrive, which has agreements with SAI Flight and AeroAuto to bring its flagship SD-05 air taxi to the U.S.
However, unlike most American eVTOL designs—which mount tilting propellers on a fixed wing—the SD-05 positions 12 rigid vertical lift propellers on a multirotor array. Per SkyDrive, this reduces its rotor-to-rotor width to about 37 feet. That’s similar to the wingspan of Archer Aviation, Joby Aviation, Beta Technologies, and Wisk Aero’s eVTOL models, about 40 to 50 feet. But those measurements do not account for rotors that extend past the wing.
In other words, American air taxis are designed to carry more passengers (typically four or five) but may be too large to operate out of a SkyDrive expressway hub. However, some manufacturers have other ideas.
Accommodating Air Taxis
The FAA’s EB 105A classifies vertiports as a type of heliport for aircraft with three or more propulsors, covering the design of sites for piloted aircraft with MTOW up to 12,500 pounds.
It sets the geometry of the touchdown and liftoff area (TLOF), final approach and takeoff area (FATO), and surrounding safety area based on the diameter of an eVTOL’s rotor system, rather than its wingspan, which can be shorter. The FAA is also exploring performance-based vertiport design standards.
Earlier this month, a vertiport at Dubai International Airport (OMDB) in the United Arab Emirates reached technical completion, making it the first in the world approved to handle commercial eVTOL operations. Orlando International (KMCO) and other U.S. airports are undertaking similar projects. FBOs such as Signature Aviation and Atlantic Aviation are partnering with air taxi manufacturers to build their own vertiports.
Others are getting more creative.
After acquiring Blade Air Mobility’s New York City hubs, Joby Aviation plans to build vertiports within parking garages across the U.S. in partnership with Metropolis. In addition to the Dubai Airport vertiport, the company’s planned UAE network includes hubs at the Dubai Mall and Atlantis the Palm resort.
Similarly, Electra envisions “access points” for its ultra short electric aircraft at unused parking spaces, piers, barges, malls, and even destinations such as casinos and ski resorts. The only requirements are 300 to 400 square feet of space and eight-degree approach and departure surfaces to help the company’s EL9 clear obstacles.
Archer in the UAE is building a hospital vertiport with partner Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. At the Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal, it is developing a hybrid vertiport for both air taxis and helicopters.
Some companies are working on even more innovative concepts. Chinese air taxi manufacturer AutoFlight’s Sunship is essentially a miniature aircraft carrier, designed to accommodate aircraft weighing up to two tons while cruising on the water.
Others are focused on safety and efficiency. Australia’s Skyportz developed its patented Aeroberm to reduce eVTOL downwash and outwash, improving safety and decreasing the required ground footprint for takeoff and landing. The company will allow American manufacturers to use the Aeroberm for free during the upcoming eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), a series of demonstrations with precertified aircraft set to begin in September.
SkyDrive is targeting FAA certification of the SD-05 in 2028, followed shortly by its U.S. commercial launch.
