Research

colorful graphic of state of California with eVTOL

Where California Leads, Will a UAM Nation — or the World — Follow?

Aircraft, Operating Environment, and Oh Yeah, Taxes

California’s nearly 40 million residents could set the gold standard for UAM.

Read More

How Much Noise Will a Single Rotor Make When a Single Rotor Makes Noise?

Use the NASA RVLT Conceptual Design Toolchain to Predict Best Practices

In their paper, “Best Practices for Predicting Acoustics of a Single Rotor Using the NASA RVLT Conceptual Design Toolchain” presented at the Vertical Flight Society’s 6th Decennial Aeromechanics Specialists’ Conference held in Santa Clara, California in February 2024, NASA aerospace engineers Lauren Weist, Natasha Schatzman, and Dorsa Shirazi detailed the results of their study intended…

Read More
Maps and illustrations of Oklahoma City.

Winds of Change – A Proposal to Reconstruct Wind Flows for Urban Air Mobility

The Wind Beneath – Above, In Front of, and Behind – Your Wings. (Or Perhaps Your Rotors).

Predicting wind flows for UAM is a challenge to the safe integration of uncrewed aircraft systems into the national airspace. One researcher proposes a solution using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD), Reynolds-average Navier Stokes (RANS) model with current real-world observation.

Read More
Yellow trolley in front of colorful urban homes.

Does the Public Really Want Air Taxis?

Evtols? UAVs? UAM? Tell Us How You Really Feel . . . 

People have wildly different views on the future of urban air mobility (UAM). Policymakers and transport operators need to pay attention.

Read More
Black and white photo of the first commercial airline flight.

UAM: If We Build It, Will You Come? Will You Pay?

It Depends.

The technology behind air taxis may be ahead of people’s willingness to use them.

Read More
Illustration of a future droneport.

What Is a Droneport?

Airport. √ Vertiport. √ Droneport? Stay tuned.

You’ve heard of airports. Society will soon be hearing more about droneports.

Read More