The Template for Shared Infrastructure But how will this diverse fleet be served by a cohesive infrastructure model? Martino points to future vertiports at Level I trauma center hospitals as a possible template. Hospitals currently house an estimated 90% of all heliports and helipads in the United States, according to Alexander. Te vertiports and heliports of tomorrow will transport


to hospitals not just patients but also organs, critical sup- plies, and medications via cargo drones, eVTOLs, and traditional helicopters. Aviation facilities at these medical centers will need to accommodate all three types of aircraft. Performance-based facility design criteria, as discussed


in the FAA’s 2022 Engineering Brief (EB) No. 105, Vertiport Design, are the key to bringing this template to life, according to Martino. Performance-based design standards—where regulators define the goal or performance standard that must be met but leave to designers and engineers how to meet that standard—are increasingly used in aviation rulemaking. Prescriptive design, which spells out exactly how standards must be met, is increasingly seen as unable to keep up with the modern pace of technology development. “It really is incumbent upon regulators, legislators, and


industry to work together to create performance design criteria for this new operational environment,” Martino says. “First, because that’s the way to build infrastructure with the flexibility to serve a diverse fleet. Second, because I hope we’ve learned the lesson that we need to design for all future technologies that can meet the performance standard.” EB No. 105, which the FAA claims is a “living document,”


applies more-stringent standards for operations of eVTOLs compared with traditional rotorcraft, including suggesting a larger physical infrastructure than is included in the agency’s latest heliport design advisory circular (AC 150/5390-2D—Heliport Design), issued in January 2023. Te standards in EB No. 105 could be relaxed in time, once regulators have a better handle on AAM vehicle performance. But for now, the catch is that most AAM vehicle perfor-


mance remains unknown. Even so, via the FAA’s Airport Data and Information Portal (see “Voluntary Design Standards, Mandatory Registration,” p. 47), a vertiport developer can apply for the agency to study a particular facility design under Part 157. “Until we get some of these vehicles operational, we can’t


know” about performance, Martino says. And performance means more than just speed, range, and payload. In addition to the operating environment and tempo, Martino mentions other variables that may affect vertiport design, such as


JUNE 2024 ROTOR 45


questions about social and public acceptance and the source of infrastructure funding. But this temporary entropy doesn’t equate to inaction.


VAI is committed to driving programs to get the infrastruc- ture funded and to working with industry partners via the association’s Advanced Air Mobility Advisory Council, Martino points out. In November 2023, the council issued an updated Roadmap of Advanced Air Mobility Operations with near-, mid-, and far-term goals for AAM operations and infrastructure. Te roadmap calls for leveraging current airports, developing additional infrastructure standards and capacity, and building new vertiports.


Single Classification for All Players What exactly is the difference between heliports and verti- ports? According to the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, a vertiport is “a collective term referring to areas designed specifically for AAM aircraft to take off and land, much like a heliport is a designated area for helicopters.”


The elevated heliport at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago hosts more than 70 flights annually. Illinois is home to 273 heliports, according to the state’s transportation department. (Rex Alexander Photo)


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