AAM and Drones Are Climbing Fast with NBAA
At this yr’s National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Business Aviation Conference and Expo (BACE) in fabulous Las Vegas, the organization doubled-down on its commitment to sustainability by announcing a brand new public advocacy campaign, “Climbing.Fast.” From the Keynote stage on Day 1, NBAA President and CEO, Ed Bolan, confirmed that his team “seeks to underscore all the nice things about business aviation and to clarify that we’re on a mission to net zero.” From the stage to the event branding, across the expo hall floor and out at the electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) live demonstrations out at Henderson’s Executive Airport, NBAA made one other message just as loud and clear: drones and air taxis are a part of the sustainability solution for business aviation (BA).
In its Business Aviation Fact Book, NBAA defines BA as “a subset of general aviation (GA)” that uses such aircraft “for business purposes.” GA “encompasses all civil aviation activity except that of the business airlines” and “is an integral and vital a part of the world’s transportation system.” Until recently, BA only included helicopters, piston-powered propeller-driven airplanes and turbine-powered turboprops and turbojets. Now, with zero net emissions as its goal, NBAA has embraced drones and air taxis as a part of its broader ecosystem.
Bolan explained that amongst other things, NBAA has been, “fostering recent technologies similar to hybrid, hydrogen, electric propulsion.” He said, “We’re moving into the AAM (advanced air mobility) age.” Referencing Wisk’s fifth generation demonstrator autonomous eVTOL aircraft, Cora, he called out the “aircraft in our lobby that flew at OshKosh this yr.” He exclaimed in front of the standing-room-only keynote crowd, “This is occurring!”
Along with the Cora, other firms also showcased their air taxis. VoltAero showcased its Cassio, an industry-first electric-hybrid aircraft that uses sustainable fuel made with bioethanol from vineyard waste. Electra Aero displayed a model of its hybrid-electric, ultra-short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft. It has plans to hold nine passengers, two pilots, and 50 lbs of bags per person over 400 nautical miles. And, every morning on the show, Volocopter provided live demonstration flights of its VoloCity prototype before crowds watching in awe as the longer term of aviation flew before their very eyes.
After which there have been the drones. USI (formerly often called Unmanned Safety Institute), in partnership with Sony, Censys Techologies and Phoenix Air Unmanned (PAU), displayed drone technology and training programs to the throngs of conference attendees who explored the Emerging Tech pavilion.
For the primary time within the history of the event, educational content included panels not only on the longer term of AAM but additionally on beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations and drone enabling technologies. Comprised of a few of the drone’s industry’s luminaries, similar to Josh Olds from USI, Jon Damush of Iris Automation, Charlton Evans CEO of End State Solutions, Will Lovett of PAU, Rob Knochenhauer of Censys, amongst others, these panels helped further construct the bridge between the normal GA/BA crowd and these newer entrants to the community. To bolster the purpose that this recent wave of aircraft are a vital a part of BA, and are here to remain, even the NBAA event banners and slides included images of drones.
“Sustainability is a big focus of the event and for business aviation now and into the longer term,” Bolan noted. He continued, “We’ve been an incubator for brand spanking new tech. We’ve reduced carbon emissions by 40%. We’re champions of sustainable aircraft fuel, which may reduce emissions by 80%….We’re excited in regards to the remarkable technologies, services and products on display here on the Expo Center and out at Henderson Airport.”
BA has created over 1,000,000 jobs, fostered economic development in small towns and communities and connected them to the worldwide marketplace. BA makes firms more efficient by allowing them to hook up with three cities in at some point. And BA further helps society by routinely providing humanitarian relief.
BA isn’t going away. It has a story to inform. And now, drones and air taxis are a part of that story.