AN OPPORTUNITY, NOT A DEATH KNELL
When it comes to the impact of eVTOLs on the existing rotorcraft industry, HAI President and CEO James Viola is quick to characterize their emergence as an opportunity to be embraced, rather than a portent of doom to be feared.
“Let me be clear: AAM (advanced air mobility unmanned aircraft) and eVTOL operations are complementary to conventional helicopters.” - James Viola, HAI president and CEO
“Let me be clear: AAM (advanced air mobility unmanned aircraft) and eVTOL operations are complementary to conventional helicopters,” Viola told Rotor Pro. “As a result, during the introduction of AAM and eVTOL technology, helicopters will still need to conduct the same missions they are currently performing – and have been performing for over 80 years. Then, as technology advances, we will still need helicopters for specific missions, such as heavy-lift utility work or hot-and-high missions.”
“We believe that eVTOLs will cover only a limited range of potential helicopter missions in the near- and mid-term. This is because batteries do not currently allow eVTOLs to perform SAR, law enforcement or disaster relief missions, for example. So we see shuttle flights for passengers or the medical sector as typical missions for eVTOLs, as well as ecotourism.” - Balkiz Sarihan, Airbus Head of UAM Strategy
“It’s going to be a totally new world here,” observed Jesse Crispino, chief operations officer with the eVTOL manufacturer Jaunt Air Mobility. “But your traditional turbine engine helicopters are not going anywhere. They’re going to have an application for long-haul routes to offshore oil rigs and for the military, just because the range and speed delivered by fossil fuel is so much higher than what can be provided by electric batteries.”
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This being said, “Unmanned eVTOL will definitely take some share of conventional manned helicopter missions, which obviously implies market share as well,” said Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations.
Airbus Head of UAM Strategy Balkiz Sarihan thinks that “share” is limited by batteries. “We believe that eVTOLs will cover only a limited range of potential
helicopter missions in the near- and mid- term,” he said. “This is because batteries do not currently allow eVTOLs to perform SAR, law enforcement or disaster relief missions, for example. So we see shuttle flights for passengers or the medical sector as typical missions for eVTOLs, as well as ecotourism.”
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