The world’s leading developers of Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft will meet at the Transformative Vertical Flight 2020 Conference, slated for Jan. 21-23, 2020, in San Jose, California.
Recent market studies commissioned by NASA, as well as those published by financial investment and analysis companies, suggest that as many as 100,000 eVTOL aircraft could be flying commercially in the coming decades as part of an emerging $500 billion to $2 trillion eVTOL market.
According to officials with the Vertical Flight Society (VFS), an advocate for the advancement of helicopters, rotorcraft, and other vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL), some 60 technical paper authors, plus 75 invited speakers, will present the gamut of technologies, technical breakthroughs, key challenges, and innovative solutions for transformative vertical flight aircraft at the conference.
Keynote talks are being provided by leaders in government and industry, including NASA, the FAA, US Army Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program, the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, Bell, Lockheed Martin, and Uber.
VFS has held a biennial conference in the San Francisco Bay area since 1974, covering aeromechanics, design, and other aspects of rotorcraft technology. This year’s event comes at a time of transformative capabilities beginning to be realized for vertical flight aircraft, officials note.
“The vertical flight industry is undergoing a technological revolution that will see advanced rotorcraft and electric/hybrid-electric powered aircraft flying new passenger, first response, public and utility missions in the next decade and beyond,” said Mike Hirschberg, VFS Executive Director.
The conference will include three concurrent events covering more than 120 presentations:
- The 7th Annual Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Symposium
- The International Powered Lift Conference (IPLC)
- The Aeromechanics for Advanced Vertical Flight Technical Meeting
The Aeromechanics for Advanced Vertical Flight meeting will provide a forum for addressing aeromechanics challenges and solutions for the US Department of Defense FVL program, next generation civil rotorcraft and new fixed-wing VTOL aircraft. Subject matter will encompass advanced dynamics, aerodynamics, acoustics and flight mechanics, all of which are strong drivers in the design process.
The International Powered Lift Conference is a technical meeting focused on the technologies, promise and progress of powered lift systems, with applications ranging from advanced rotorcraft to jet-borne vertical flight and electric VTOL aircraft.
The 7th Annual Electric VTOL Symposium is the world’s longest-running technical meeting on the promise and progress of eVTOL aircraft. It covers the critical challenges for eVTOL and urban air mobility (UAM), including technology, regulations and standards, infrastructure, autonomy and public acceptance.
“The VFS eVTOL Symposium is the world’s preeminent technical gathering of eVTOL experts,” said Hirschberg. “It’s a unique opportunity for designers, developers, innovators, investors, regulators, infrastructure providers, end users, media, and key influencers to share knowledge and work towards realizing what we call The Electric VTOL Revolution. This is also a tremendous opportunity for those new to eVTOL.”
VFS is hosting a full-day Short Course on eVTOL Aircraft Design Fundamentals in conjunction with the conference, taught by experts in their fields, on Monday, Jan. 20th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The organizers of Transformative Vertical Flight 2020 include Dr. Colin Theodore, NASA Ames Research Center; Dr. Mark Fulton, US Army Aviation Development Directorate; Dr. Michael Yu, Continuum Dynamics, and Carl Russell, NASA Ames Research Center. A tour of NASA Ames Research Center is planned for Friday, Jan. 24, 2020.
“The mainstream aerospace industry dismissed electric VTOL technology in 2013 when VFS recognized its potential. Through the years, our eVTOL Symposiums have tackled the key barriers and connected innovators with vertical flight experts. The meetings have shown that eVTOL aircraft for passenger services are not only possible, but likely within the next few years,” noted Hirschberg. “eVTOL companies have attracted some $2 billion in investment.”