Workshop on eVTOL Defining Challenges for Urban Air Mobility:
System Safety, Infrastructure and Airspace Management
Navy Memorial Visitor Center
701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004-2608
Sept. 10-12, 2019 @ 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Proceedings can now be purchased online on the VFS Online Library.
The Vertical Flight Society is hosting its first workshop on the defining challenges of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, planned for Sept. 10-12, 2019, at the US Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. This three-day meeting is dedicated to identifying the foundational elements needed to support this growing industry, particularly infrastructure, air traffic management and system safety. Importantly, this workshop will review the activities of key organizations, and look for gaps and overlaps in development to ensure a successful realization of urban air mobility (UAM).
Background
The Vertical Flight Society, founded in 1943 as the American Helicopter Society, is the world's leading professional organization working to advance vertical flight. VFS has been a leading advocate and supporter of what we call The Electric VTOL Revolution. We held the world's eVTOL technical meeting in 2014 and our 7th Annual eVTOL Symposium is planned for Jan. 2020 in Silicon Valley; we now have 100+ hours of informative and educational videos on electric VTOL. A summary of the work that VFS and its partners have done, along with information on previous events and activities, can be found on this webpage.
Objectives
- Create common understanding of risk-based frameworks and system safety practices.
- Identify frameworks for understanding infrastructure development risks, and identify current gaps in industry best practice data for new technologies enabling UAM concepts
- Connect risk assessment frameworks through infrastructure design to operational considerations
- Build upon existing heliport safety data, Air Traffic Management (ATM) practices, and existing rotorcraft safety data to identify pre-competitive areas where proactive industry collaboration could be valuable in accelerating UAM adoption
Deliverables
- Create list of fundamental, pre-competitive research topics or projects that could be undertaken by stakeholders to assist in closing these gaps
- Build upon existing safety data to identify pre-competitive areas where proactive industry collaboration could be valuable in accelerating UAM adoption
Organizers
- Rex Alexander, 5-Alpha
- John Koelling, NASA
- Misty Davis, NASA
- Jonathan Hartman, Sikorsky LMCO
- Ajay Sehgal, KBR
- Dan Newman, Boeing
- Anubhav Datta, University of Maryland
- Ken Goodrich, NASA
Registration and Sponsorships
- US Federal Govt Employees and Speakers: $200
- VFS Members: $350
- Non-Members: $450 (includes 1 year of VFS membership).
Note: since this is a working meeting, members of the press cannot attend.
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| Preliminary Agenda: Download the Preliminary Agenda (PDF) | ||
| Day 1 – Tuesday, September 10 – Infrastructure | ||
| 0700–0800 | Registration Opens | |
| 0800–0900 | Welcome/Introductions |
Mike Hirschberg, Vertical Flight Society |
| 0900–1000 | VTOL Infrastructure, The Current State | Rex Alexander, Vertical Flight Society / Bill Goodwin, Skyryse |
| 1030–1200 | Vertiports Design Requirements | |
| • | Local Policy Considerations for UAM | Anna Dietrich, AMD Consulting / Yolanka Wulff, CAMI |
| • | eVTOL Ground Infrastructure Standardization and Interoperability | Arturo Garcia-Alonso, Airport Intelligence / Darrel Swanson, Swanson Aviation Consulting |
| • | Vertiport Building Code | Rex Alexander, Five-Alpha |
| 1330–1500 | Vertiport Performance | |
| • | Geo-Coding the Future of Urban Air Mobility | Michael Dyment, NEXA Advisors |
| • | Vertiport Electrical Requirements | Teresa Peterson, Gannett Fleming |
| • | Powered for Take-Off: Preparing for High-Powered Charging | Jamare Bates, Black & Veatch |
| • | Uber's Perspectives on Infrastructure | Mark Moore, Uber Elevate |
| 1530–1700 | Operations | |
| • | Operations Safety: Automating Hazard Detection, Assessment and Mitigation | Nikunj Oza, NASA |
| • | Weather Operations & Micro-climates | Colleen Reiche, Booz Allen Hamilton / Matthias Steiner, Nat'l Ctr of Atmospheric Research |
| • | GAMA Activities | Christine DeJong, GAMA |
| Day 2 – Wednesday, September 11 – Air Traffic / Noise / Passenger Experience | ||
| 0700–0800 | Registration Opens | |
| 0800–0900 | Welcome/Introductions | John Koelling, NASA |
| 0830–1000 | Today's Air Traffic Control | |
| • | TBA | Chris Baur, Hughes Aerospace |
| 1030–1200 | Defining the Airspace | |
| • | NASA UAM Grand Challenge | Starr Ginn, NASA |
| • | Lessons Learned from UAS Traffic Management | Dr. Marcus Johnson, NASA |
| • | Airspace Definition and Flight Path Spacing - UAM, UTM and ATM-x | Jeff Maddalon, NASA |
| 1330–1500 | eVTOL / UAM Challenges: Open Panel Discussion | |
| • | Moderator: Ajay Sehgal, KBR |
• Anna Dietrich, AMD Consulting |
| 1530–1700 | Acoustics / Ride Handling | |
| • | Uber's Perspectives on Acoustics | Mark Moore, Uber Elevate |
| • | eVTOL Noise / Acoustics | Juliet Page, Volpe |
| • | Electric VTOL (eVTOL) Passenger Experience | George Price, Crown Consulting |
| • | eVTOL for Public Services – Opportunities & Challenges | Johnny Doo, International Vehicle Research, Inc. |
| Day 3 – Thursday – September 12 – System Safety & Certification | ||
| 0830–0900 | Registration Opens | |
| 0900–0930 | Welcome, Introduction to the Day, Thoughts on Industry Collaborations | Jonathan Hartman / Nick Lappos, Sikorsky |
| 0930 - 0100 | Current Administration Goals and Priorities | Joe Van Valen & Bert Williams, OSTP |
| 1000–1100 | Today's Vehicles - an Intro to Risk Framework | |
| • | Defining and Understanding Risk-Based Frameworks | John Burchett, Int'l System Safety Organization |
| 1130–1300 | Understanding Operational Risks for UAM | |
| • | Current Rotorcraft Incident Data and Trends | Jonathan Hartman, Sikorsky |
| • | Impact of Adverse Weather on eVTOL Design & Operations for UAM | |
| • | Moderator: Ajay Sehgal, KBR |
• Rex Alexander, Five-Alpha |
| 1400–1500 | Understanding Air Vehicle Design Risks | |
| • | Uber's Perspective on Vehicle Safety | Mark Moore, Uber Elevate |
| • | Cyber-security | Max Fenkell, AIA / Daniel Freedman, Lockheed Martin |
| 1500–1700 | Interactive Discussion | |
| • | Actions and Activities of the VFS eVTOL Technical Committee | Anubhav Datta, UMD/VFS eVTOL Tech Committee Chair |
| • | ASTM Activities | Ajay Sehgal, ASTM |
| • | SAE Activities | Mark DeAngelo, SAE International |
| • | CAMI Activities | Yolanka Wulff, CAMI |
| • | NBAA Activities | Mike Nichols, NBAA |
| Program Wrap-up Capturing the Actions | Rex Alexander, Jim Sherman, Jonathan Hartman | |
Venue
The United States Navy Memorial Visitor Center is a state-of-the-art event and meeting space located in the heart of Washington, DC on Pennsylvania Avenue, halfway between the White House and Capitol building and across the street from the National Archives. It is steps from the Metrorail Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter stop (Green & Yellow Lines) and plenty of parking is available.
VFS has not arranged for a hotel block, so attendees are free to choose their lodging.
Questions?
Please contact Jim Sherman for more information.
Updated Sept. 24, 2019