VoloCity in front of Skyports and ADP Vertiport Terminal at Pontoise-Cormeilles testbed which was … [+]
Groupe ADP, Skyports and Volocopter recently opened an urban air mobility (UAM) vertiport testbed in Pontoise, France.
The company says the testbed in Pontoise is Europe’s first fully integrated vertiport terminal in the UAM industry. The new facility allows advanced testing of critical technology and passenger processes.
On November 10, Skyport and Volocopter held a series of demonstrations highlighting an end-to-end vertiport customer journey, including displays of flight monitoring capabilities and a crewed Volocopter 2X test flight.
Dirk Hoke, CEO of Volocopter, said the terminal’s launch represents a new era for urban air mobility because it allows for advanced testing.
“Hundreds of visitors watched our flight and could go through a Vertiport themselves, realizing that electric air taxis is not some far-off vision, but will be our reality in a mere two years,” said Hocke.
Hocke said no place globally that could test an urban air mobility ecosystem as extensively or frequently as in the Pontoise Sandbox.
“There are a number of factors that make the Pontoise Sandbox special,” said Hoke. “From the vertiport infrastructure setup, takeoff and landing within a working airfield, to the proximity to the city center and major airports around Paris as well as the digital infrastructure and connectivity within the airspace, all participants of UAM/AAM can test here under agnostic conditions which help the industry to collaborate and grow as a whole.”
Hoke says that introducing a new form of mobility requires industry-wide collaboration and the support of regulators and government bodies.
“The fully integrated testbed at Pontoise-Cormeilles enables a variety of stakeholders to test technologies and procedures in diverse configurations in a real-life environment,” said Hoke. “The opportunity to test on a live airfield is invaluable and essential to the development of the entire industry.”
The UAM ecosystem includes manufacturers of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), physical and digital infrastructure providers, regulators, technology supply chains, cities, governments, the public, and many others.
The testbed at Pontoise-Cormeilles is aircraft agnostic and enables the UAM ecosystem the chance to test and develop its technologies and collaborate with key ecosystem partners such as regulators, technology pioneers and local partners such as the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC). The vertiport will also prioritize the passenger journey through the terminal, including security and check-in processes, biometric technologies, passenger dwell time and aircraft boarding.
“The Pontoise-Cormeilles terminal is a physical demonstration of the fact that innovation won’t occur in isolation,” said Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports. “It requires collaboration from a multitude of area experts, including operators, vehicle manufacturers, and technology developers, each of which has an important role to play in achieving the ultimate objective of commercial AAM services.”
Walker says that with the completion of the terminal, they can begin comprehensive testing of procedures and technologies in a realistic aviation environment. “This will create a pace for Skyports and consortium partners to accelerate the industry.”
Hoke adds that the testbed allows all the participants to test processes, integrate new and old systems, and simulate different operational scenarios to create trust and positive awareness among all stakeholders. “Together, we will succeed in providing an additional emission-free transport option for the public.”
“Every test is one step closer to commercialization for 2024,” added Hoke.
