2023 7th Workshop on AAM Infrastructure

The Vertical Flight Society's 7th Workshop on Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Infrastructure was a great success! More than 30 of the world's leading AAM and technology experts spoke, with 85 people attended this workshop.

Video recordings of discussions and presentations from this Infrastructure Workshop are available to all VFS members and workshop attendees. Attendees received a link to download the approved presentation slide PDF files. Read our Vertiflite summary article, A Master Class in AAM Infrastructure.

Didn't attend? PDFs of the approved presentations slides are available in the VFS Vertical Flight Library. You can purchase the recordings via Vimeo. VFS members can watch the videos for free.

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VFS is holding its 7th Workshop on AAM Infrastructure on Sept. 26-28, 2023 in Cape May, New Jersey (45 minutes south of the FAA Tech Center) and virtually.

Tuesday morning will begin with AAM 101 followed by a deep dive into important and timely topics through Thursday at noon, and a tour of the FAA Tech Center’s Aviation Research Laboratories on Thursday afternoon (see sidebar for signup and visitor requirements). A networking reception sponsored by ULTRA will be held Tuesday evening at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Museum.

Download the schedule overview, final program and AAM 101 agenda!

AAM 101: AAM Fundamentals

• Yolanka Wulff, Executive Director, Community Air Mobility Initiative (CAMI)
• Clint Harper, AAM Community Advocate, Harper4D Solutions
• Michael Dyment, Managing Partner, NEXA Capital Partners, LLC

AAM 101: Integrating AAM into Communities 

• Yolanka Wulff, Executive Director, Community Air Mobility Initiative (CAMI)
• Clint Harper, AAM Community Advocate, Harper4D Solutions
• Michael Yablonski, Senior Consultant, Kimley-Horn

Welcome & Introductions

• Moderator: Rex Alexander, President, Five-Alpha LLC
• Angelo Collins, Executive Director, VFS
• Will Morey, Commissioner, Cape May
• Mike Paglione, Aviation Research Division Manager, FAA Tech Center
• Keynote: Haddon Antonucci, Policy Director for Congressman Jeff Van Drew, a staunch advocate for the FAA Tech Center and AAM

Infrastructure Data Integrity

• Moderator: Cliff Johnson, Senior R&D Engineer, FAA Tech Center
• Thomas Mackie, Vice President, Program Director, Woolpert, Inc.
• Dr. Nidhal Bouaynaya, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rowan University
• Jennifer Dahlstrom, Aeronautical Information Specialist, FAA

Performance Based Infrastructure

• Moderator: Rex Alexander, President, Five-Alpha LLC
• Robert Bassey, Airports Design/Construction Engineer, FAA
• Zachary Shuman, Practice Leader, National Aviation Services, Woolpert Inc.
• Peter H. Schmidt, COO & Founder, Transcend Air Corporation

Performance-Based Fire Protection in AAM

• Moderator: Ryan Naru, Govt Affairs Senior Specialist, Joby Aviation
• Rex Alexander, President, Five-Alpha LLC
• Peter Simpson, Director, PSNK Aeronautical Services

FAA Advanced Vertical Lift Team AAM Infrastructure Update

• Moderator: Cliff Johnson, Senior R&D Engineer, FAA Tech Center
• Mike Webb, Program Analyst, FAA AFS-420 / Flight Procedure Standards Branch
• Nolan Crawford, Aviation Safety Inspector, FAA AFS-470 / Performance Based Flight Systems Branch
• Rune Duke, Senior Technical Advisor, FAA AFS-1 / Office of Safety Standards
• Shawn Silverman, Senior Aviation Analyst, FAA/AAM Certification and Helicopter Operations

AAM Infrastructure & Insurance

• Moderator: Laura O'Donnell, Aviation Insurance Specialist, MarshMcLennan Agency
• Jonathan Daniels, CEO, Praxis Aerospace Concepts
• Michael Dyment, Managing Partner, NEXA Capital Partners, LLC
• Chris Proudlove, SVP, Underwriting Executive, Global Aerospace

AAM Operations at Airports

• Moderator: Gaël Le Bris, VP Aviation Planning, WSP USA
• Chuck Clauser, Senior Architect, PS&S Architecture and Engineering
• Carlo Padoa, Project Manager, Bayards Helidecks and Helipads

Preparing for 2030: A Pragmatic Blueprint for Vertiport Evolution

• Moderator: Clint Harper, AAM Community Advocate, Harper4D Solutions
• Tom Frooninckx, Executive VP, TruWeather Solutions
• Usmaan Javed, RPAS Technical Officer, ICAO/FAA
• Tesfaye (Tes) Ali, AAM Committee Chairman, PennDOT

UAS/Drone & Droneport Integration

• Moderator: Jonathan Daniels, Founder & CEO, Praxis Aerospace Concepts Intl
• Torrie Meliska, Vertiport Lead & Infrastructure Product Manager, Wisk
• Ray Adams, Executive Director, Urban Low Altitude Transport Association (ULTRA)
• Ron Leach, Principal, Leach Strategic Partners

AAM Infrastructure Electrification

• Moderator: Rex Alexander, President, Five-Alpha LLC
• Clint Harper, AAM Community Advocate, Harper 4D Solutions
• Chip Palombini, Vertiport and Charging Infrastructure Team Lead, Beta Technologies

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This is the seventh in a (now annual) series of workshops on AAM infrastructure begun in September 2019. 

Objectives

• Provide an open forum to stakeholders and interested parties from industry and applicable government and regulatory bodies to discuss Operations & Safety requirements and expectations as they relate to AAM technology and infrastructure.
• Conduct facilitated discussions regarding key Operational & Safety questions pertaining to AAM infrastructure to better understand potential AAM aircraft limitations and aerodynamic deficiencies that must be considered in future infrastructure development.
• Identify collaborative research and development opportunities necessary for creating safe infrastructure design standards based on aircraft performance criteria.

Deliverables

• Build upon existing safety data to identify pre-competitive areas where proactive industry collaboration would be valuable in accelerating adoption.
• Identify collaborative opportunities between industry and government agencies that will benefit the AAM industry.
• Draft consensus-based strategies to advance infrastructure Operations and Safety at key Federal, State and Local levels.

Organizers

• Rex Alexander, 5-Alpha / VFS
• Cliff Johnson, FAA Tech Center
• Lacey Thompson, FAA
• Tyler Travis, ATAC

2023 7th Workshop on AAM Infrastructure
September 26-28, 2023 | Cape May, NJ, USA
	Member	Non-Member*
In Person	$395	$525
Govt/Speaker	$295	$425
Virtual	$295	$425
Non-member registrations include one year of membership with VFS.

Register now!

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; we now have 200+ 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. 

Learn more about our six past AAM Infrastructure Workshops!

Questions?

Please contact Rex Alexander for more information. 

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Updated Oct. 18, 2023

 

Thank you to our sponsors!
Gold Sponsors







Reception refreshments sponsored by

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Venue:

Cape May Convention Hall 
714 Beach Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204

NEW: FAQ for travel, hotels, etc.

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• Platinum Sponsorship: $5,000 — includes top-billing logos/signage, flyer, five complimentary registrations and a 20-minute speaking slot. (Subject to approval and availability)
• Gold Sponsorship: $2,000 — includes logos/signage, flyer, three complimentary registrations and a 10-minute speaking slot. (Subject to approval and availability)
• Silver Sponsorship: $1,000 — includes logos/signage, flyer, two complimentary registrations.

More details can be found in the Infrastructure Sponsorship Form (PDF). Questions? Please contact Valerie Sheehan for more information.

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Tour sign-up:

The FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center is located at Atlantic City International Airport,  Egg Harbor, New Jersey. The Tech Center will  be providing tours of AAM-related facilities for workshop attendees. Transportation to the Tech Center will not be provided, but once at the Tech Center Visitors Center, the FAA will provide buses for the tour. There is a limit of 60 seats on the buses; first come/first served. 

Attendees must sign up in advance through the VFS tour signup page: sign up form and security requirements.

Only US Citizens may now sign up for the tour. The deadline with the FAA for foreign nationals to be approved has now passed.

The tour, which should end by 4pm, will visit these four facilities:

• Vertical Flight Simulation Laboratory
• Propulsion & Air Power Engineering Research (POWER) & More Electric Aircraft Laboratory 
• Airport Research Facility 
• NextGen Integration and Evaluation Capability (NIEC)