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The Vertical Flight Society shared on Monday that the number of eVTOL aircraft concepts tracked in the World eVTOL Aircraft Directory has reached 1,000 from over 430 designers.
The race to develop and certify an eVTOL continues, with companies all over the world working on innovative designs for a cleaner, lower-noise travel option. Electric propulsion will allow new aircraft concepts to have an enhanced performance, little to no emissions, reduced operating costs and low noise. VFS held its first eVTOL workshop in 2014 and then launched the world's first e-newsletter, The Electric VTOL News in 2016 when there were a small number of eVTOL programs in development. The number has grown substantially in the years since, now reaching the milestone of 1,000 concepts in the VFS directory.
"We realized that there needed some way for the public to keep track of all the new innovative concepts being explored," VFS Director of Strategy Mike Hirschberg said. "Since some innovative designs that seemed implausible at the time continued maturing into plausible approaches, we decided to catalog every known design — from the silly to the serious."
When the website launched in April 2017 there were a total of 18 known eVTOL designs included. Those companies are still involved today and some under new names, including Airbus Helicopters, Airbus A3, Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell, Jaunt Air Mobility, DeLorean Aerospace, ASX, EHang, Volocopter, Mayman Aerospace, Joby, Lilium, SkyDrive and XTI Aerospace. Several of the original companies, like Kitty Hawk, Uber, Zee Aero and Workhorse are now part of other companies like Wisk or Joby.RELATED STORIES:Joby, Eve Air Mobility make new progress in eVTOL raceJoby becomes first eVTOL developer to complete third stage of FAA certification processArcher, Joby progress toward FAA certification
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Companies like Archer Aviation and Joby are racing to certify the first eVTOL. Joby completed the third stage of the FAA certification process, becoming the first eVTOL developer to do so. Archer has finished Phase 1 of its flight test program. Both companies have solidified partnerships to establish infrastructure around the U.S. and other parts of the world to prepare for the influx of eVTOL air taxis.
Designs hit the directory at a rapid pace, reaching 100 concepts by July 2018, 200 by September 2019, 400 by January 2021, 600 by January 2022 and 800 by April 2023. Doroni Aerospace's H1-X two-seat personal eVTOL aircraft was added in April, marking the 1,000th concept entered into the World eVTOL Aircraft Directory. The directory includes current aircraft under development as well as historical designs and many defunct designs that have been preserved for the record. Volocopter is working on three products - VoloCity, VoloRgion and VoloDrone, but 15 designs have been explored including the single-seat VC007 from over ten years ago.
The website hosts concepts from established aerospace companies and startups as well as individuals, universities and government agencies. There are more than 950 eVTOL news posts and hundreds of articles from the Society's Vertiflite magazine. In support of the advanced air mobility movement, VFS has sponsored the annual Electric Aircraft Symposium since 2018. The 18th annual EAS will be held online and in person in Oshkosh, Wisconsin the weekend before EAA AirVenture 2024. More than 200 people are expected to attend this year.RELATED STORY:The Vertical Flight Symposium takes off in Oshkosh
"The Electric Aircraft Symposium is a unique event that brings AAM experts to the world's largest general aviation event for lively discussions on the progress and challenges of electric aviation," VFS Executive Director Angelo Collins said. "We invite anyone interested in electric aviation to attend EAS and participate in this always-illuminating event."
Aviation has always had innovation and exploration at its core, from the early days of balloon flying to modern jets and eVTOLs. VFS was founded in 1943 as the American Helicopter Society by the early visionaries of the helicopter industry. The founders believed that technological cooperation and collaboration were crucial to supporting the new type of aircraft. VFS is now playing a similar role in the emerging AAM industry, supporting the revolutionary electric aircraft movement as it begins to grow and find its footing within the national airspace.
VFS will hold the 80th Annual Forum andamp; Technology Display May 7-9 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.