Uber Moving On VTOL Systems

0

Aviation is changing and Uber is leading an effort that will result in a system virtually unrecognizable by today’s standards but not that far away, says the company’s chief of aviation program. Eric Allison, of Uber Elevate, told the opening session at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA-BACE) convention in Orlando on Tuesday that the next logical step in urban transportation is to take advantage of the “three-dimensional growth” of urban areas. That means using tall buildings and ports to allow the fast and efficient flight of quiet electric VTOL aircraft from landing ports integrated into the buildings. “We’ll have thousands of aircraft in the air doing millions of flights each day,” he said.

Allison said the technology and computing power is now in place to make whisking three or four people a few miles across town convenient and safe. Allison said Uber has the number-crunching power to create the aerial networks that he says will transform urban transportation. It will be expensive at first, he admits, but he said he believes the economies of scale will take over and getting around cities via VTOL will be no more expensive than using a car. Los Angeles and Dallas have agreed to take part in the initial studies toward building such systems and Uber is looking for a third test city in another country.

LEAVE A REPLY