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Australian vertiport developer Skyportz has released its vertipad patent at Avalon International Airshow, Melbourne.
The modular vertipad patent addresses one of the stand-out issues for Advanced Air Mobility in urban locations – amelioration of downwash and outwash.
This issue has been highlighted by the FAA in January in their Engineering Brief 105A where the American air regulator indicated that vertipads will need to have a wind safety zone beyond the landing surface. This safety zone has only been defined as where the windspeed exceeds 34.5mph.
The actual required physical dimensions of the safety zone will likely differ between aircraft but will result in significant additional footprint requirements.
A study from Swinburne University has indicated that the Skyportz modular vertipad may dissipate energy up to 250% faster than an air taxi landing on a flat tarmac.
Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown said, “The Skyportz vertipad patent has some very real applications as cities move to establishing vertiport networks outside of existing airports and helipads.
“It means that with our vertipad you can safely use less land or fit more pads onto smaller plots.”
According to Skyportz, international air regulators and future air taxi and vertiport operators have expressed an interest in the company’s vertipad patent, which will eventually be made available in emerging global markets under licence.
Skyportz says it aims to break the nexus between aviation and airports and enable commercial and industrial property developers to host vertiports.
Newton-Brown added, “The vertiport infrastructure is the missing piece of the puzzle for this industry. Without a multitude of new vertipad landing sites in places people want to go, the aircraft will never fulfil their potential.
“The interest from the property industry is rapidly building – we envisage that those properties with vertipads will attract higher rents as businesses seek to provide air taxi services for customers. The Skyportz vertipad patent provides the solution.”
