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Firstly, in FAA land, "scheduled air taxi" under part 135 means the flight departs on a set schedule whether there are passengers or not. That is the difference between "scheduled" and "on demand".
Secondly, I may know a little more about this incident and the new rules than most. I am a member of the Helicopter Association International (HAI), Regulatory-Safety Working Group, (RSWG), that was convened after this incident. Members include high level FAA & NTSB officials, along with "prominent" industry leaders. I was selected to the board as I am the current Chairman of the HAI Tour Operator Committee, (HTOC), and the current Chairman of the Board of Directors of TOPS, (Tour Operator Program of Safety). We have met in Washington DC twice now. The first time was to review the New York incident, (among others), and identify any regulatory gaps. We are currently working on a list of 21 areas of concern in both regulations and safety culture within the US aviation industry. Some of the interim fixes were as a direct result of this group. So, yes,this issue is being addressed. Now I am going back to flying fires till the end of fire season..... |
Melbourne (Australia) is joining Dallas and Los Angeles in 2020 with preparations for operating Uber Air electric flying aircraft from shopping centre car park rooftops commercially by 2023. Four passengers and a pilot.
More: Uber Air trial begins in Melbourne next year Uber Air trial begins in Melbourne next year You could soon be able to get a trip to the airport in about 10 minutes via the air as part of a new Uber project coming to Australia. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....a47b7b6c0.jpeg Melbourne will next year become the third world city to test a new app-hailed Uber service that will transport people by air, and other Australian cities could follow if the trial is successful. The Victorian capital is joining Dallas and Los Angeles in a pilot of Uber Air flights from 2020, ahead of commercial operations starting in 2023. The electric air taxis will, in the longer term, be able to transport people across cities for the same price as the rideshare service, UberX, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Regional general manager for Uber in Australia, New Zealand and North Asia Susan Anderson made the announcement at an Uber summit in Washington. “Australian governments have adopted a forward-looking approach to ridesharing and future transport technology,” she said. “This, coupled with Melbourne’s unique demographic and geospatial factors, and culture of innovation and technology, makes Melbourne the perfect third launch city for Uber Air. “We will see other Australian cities following soon after.” It’s expected that a 19km trip from the CBD to Melbourne Airport will take around 10 minutes with Uber Air, versus up to an hour by car. “In the coming years, with Uber Air, we want to make it possible for people to push a button and get a flight,” Uber Elevate head Eric Allison added. Uber Air services use drone like special aircraft that can take off and land vertically from designated hubs - called skyports - like shopping centre rooftops, and carry four passengers and a pilot. In Melbourne, Uber is working with Westfield shopping centres owner Scentre Group, which has seven centres in the city, to help deliver its service. “We are curious to understand the role our platform may be able to play in the delivery of Australia’s future mobility options and how this could integrate with current ground transport which already includes ridesharing,” Scentre chief strategy and business development officer Cynthia Whelan said. Victorian Government Assistant Treasurer Robin Scott said the Uber Air trial plays up the state’s leadership in “transformative technologies”. Other Australian companies involved in helping to provide the infrastructure needed for the pilot include Macquarie Capital and Telstra, as well as Melbourne Airport. |
Uber announced Melbourne as a trial city, the national broadcaster ABC, decided to characterise the story with a science fiction slant by using the term “flying cars” and evoking Blade Runner. At first I was spitting cornflakes at Alexa, screaming at her that the craft won’t be driving on roads and it should be described as a drone or helicopter taxi. But “helicopter” or “drone” both have negative connotations for suburban and city dwellers and the ABC were putting a positive spin on the story by avoiding these terms. “Flying taxi” the most appropriate choice of words? Mjb |
Looks like a helicopter to me.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....ee3e0dc66e.jpg Daily Telegraph article... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...sts-next-year/ |
Uber's own publicity seems to show other concepts such as this...
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....b2bdd7528b.jpg Looks like they have decided on a standard cabin module and are playing around with different configurations - maybe the "helicopter" style is to prove the concept before moving onto a more "drone" like machine? |
Not sure how many of these things are going to be able to fit on a roof - with such a significant footprint. Moot point until we accept such things flying over cities rather than desert sites. i can think of many great applications for drones - anything rather than moving people - in an age when we are turning to VR, why do we have to use such step-change tech to transport humans on such a scale? |
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