[TusharK]

InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent company of Indigo, is collaborating with US-based Archer Aviation to launch an all-electric air taxi service in India by 2026.



Indigo will operate the air taxis between Connaught Place in Delhi and Gurgaon in Haryana. The flight time is expected to be just 7 minutes and could cost around Rs 2,000-3,000. By road, it takes about 90 minutes to cover the 27 km distance and would cost about Rs 1500.

Archer Aviation will supply 200 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at a cost of US$ 1 billion. These can carry up to 4 passengers besides the pilot. The aircraft is powered by six battery packs, which can be charged in 30-40 minutes.

The FAA certification process for Archer's 5-seater Midnight eVTOL aircraft is currently in an advanced stage. It is expected to receive its certification next year, following which, the company will initiate the process for certification by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

In addition to Delhi, Indigo and Archer Aviation also plan to launch their air taxi services in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Source: NDTV

Link to Team-BHP news

[SmartCat]

Hollywood has been dreaming about this for 60 years but nothing much has happened so far:



The technology for short haul VTOL flights has been around for decades now (helicopter), but it is rarely used by the general public. A helicopter might have higher operational cost but initial purchase cost might be 50% to 75% lower than this Rs. 40 cr electric aircraft. A 10 min helicopter ride too costs just Rs.3,000 per passenger

My theory is that ->

1) For most people, time is NOT money.
2) People face traffic while going to work & on weekends anyway. So facing traffic while going to airport does not register as a big negative. They will just leave home 90 mins early.
3) Safety concerns. Not everybody will be comfortable flying in a small aircraft
4) Very likely, there will be luggage weight limits
5) Ticket price won't be so attractive if a family of three or four is travelling (because charges become 4x. And don't forget GST!)

[Asoon]

Its a good start, with time the costs will come down and adoption will increase, EVs will get efficient, battery cost will come down and energy density will go up. This can be the Roadster moment for flying e-cars.

I wonder how that traffic will be manager at scale, will there be dedicated passages, or some kind of control system to ensure no mid air collisions ? :P

[Jeroen]

I am no expert on these aircraft or on the FAA certification program. But from what I do know I think it will take considerable longer than what they are claiming.

The next half year should be pretty crucial. They will need to demonstrate the ability to transition from vertical to horizontal flight and vice versa.

According to the Archer website they have applied for a so called special airworthiness certification. Which restricts the use of the aircraft considerably. You can’t do commercial flights with such a certificate. It is aimed at research and development and limited personal use.

https://www.faa.gov/uas/advanced_ope.../certification

So don’t hold your breath yet, it is going to take quite a bit of time before this becomes reality. Part of their certification process will also be agreeing with the FAA on a bunch of stuff specific to electrical aircraft. E.g. what are the rules to flight planning, in terms of reserves? With conventional fuel this is well understood. But on electrical,aircraft the weather, specifically temperature, has a considerable impact on range! No idea how they will calculate reserves.

On average it takes ten years to obtain an FAA regular type certificate. It takes several years to be able to have a design at a level you can start discussing it with the FAA. And that is just discussing, before you start the actual certification process. This company started in 2018, so go figure!

Also, remember, there are very few aircraft, other than helicopters that have been successful in making the transition from vertical to horizontal flight. The American Osprey springs to mind and it has had its fair share of accidents too!

Not sure I would get into one of these contraptions!

I don’t think they are very upfront with their certification, why should I trust them with anything else?

Jeroen

[Fuldagap]

Pardon me being lame, how is it going to be better than a helicopter ride? Is it the costs involved?

[turbo_delight]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Indigo will operate the air taxis between Connaught Place in Delhi and Gurgaon in Haryana. The flight time is expected to be just 7 minutes and could cost around Rs 2,000-3,000. By road, it takes about 90 minutes to cover the 27 km distance and would cost about Rs 1500.

If business model is to reduce traveling time, then it does not look very promising to me.
Simple reason being the person will have to travel to the designated flying location, check-in into flight, finish mandatory checks, board and fly. After reaching Gurgaon, he'll have to deboard, get a cab to his destination.
And this process will be time consuming.

And money aspect also is not that attractive if one thinks of the flexibility that a person gets when he uses his own vehicle.
And I have still not added car pooling into the equation.

It'll end up like Vande bharat trains. Good for selfies and reels..

[saubi2299]

Long time back, I read about helicopters from bangalore airport to Electronic City. Are those operational now?
As birds fly, CP- Gurgaon route will be highly restricted, passing over the sensitive areas in Lutyens and then either pass very close from the airport, or no fly zones near Air Force radars.

[Aviatoraval]

7 minutes, Tall claim.

Imagine Delhi, Now CP to Gurugram is like North East to south West corridor.

1) No such Kopter routing on said track.
2) Minimum height required is 2000 ft over populated area. Approach to Runway 27 or 28 both starts at 2600 ft. So nobody going to let you enter inside 600 ft band. So you cant go below, you cant go above.
3) Weight restriction per passenger.
4) Certification requirement for performance type.
5) Crew training.
6) Finally if you decide to skirt around 14 DME arc, you might as well go by Airport Metro.
7) Nail in the coffin will be DGCA ()

Too far fetched, but some day it will happen.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Aviatoraval

7 minutes, Tall claim.
.

True, mind you, they also claim it would take 90 minutes by car! That is an even taller claim!

Jeroen

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

They will need to demonstrate the ability to transition from vertical to horizontal flight and vice versa. The American Osprey springs to mind and it has had its fair share of accidents too!

Wonder why they have opted for this complex Osprey like lift/propulsion system. Since it is electric and we have Quadcopters already, I'd have expected them to use its simpler vertical/horizontal flight mechanism.

Sure, even the fastest Quadcopters are relatively slow (100 kmph). But these are very short flights and top speed should not matter much.