The VFS History Committee is proud to present the 2025 VTOL History Calendar, which is generously sponsored by Unither Bioelectronics.
We hope you enjoy the calendar! VFS members can also download a complimentary PDF of the whole calendar by logging into My-VFS or the VFS Online Store.
Check out the historical descriptions in past VFS VTOL History Calendars as well:
2024 History Calendar | 2023 History Calendar | 2022 History Calendar | 2021 History Calendar | 2020 History Calendar | 2019 History Calendar | 2018 History Calendar | 2017 History Calendar | 2016 History Calendar | 2015 History Calendar | 2014 History Calendar | 2013 History Calendar | 2012 History Calendar
United Therapeutics
United Therapeutics was founded in 1996 by Dr. Martine Rothblatt, who had previously created the satellite-radio company SiriusXM. After her daughter was diagnosed with life-threatening pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), Rothblatt found the cure and created United Therapeutics, a public benefit corporation (PBC). It develops novel, life-extending technologies for patients in the areas of lung disease and organ manufacturing.
In 2006, Lung Biotechnology PBC was established to address the acute national shortage of transplantable lungs and other organs with a variety of technologies that either delay the need for such transplants or expand the supply through xenotransplants or artificial lungs.
By 2015, Rothblatt recognized that a significant increase in the supply of transplant organs would also stimulate a corresponding demand for aircraft to rapidly deliver manufactured organs to hospital operating rooms. She believed electric propulsion offered the means to mitigate the increased noise and emissions. “United Therapeutics is dedicated to saving lives, and we refuse to hurt the planet in the process,” says the company website.
The Unither Organ Delivery Systems research and development program started several years ago at Unither Bioelectronics, a subsidiary based in Bromont, Quebec, Canada. In July 2020, the company received a Special Flight Operations Certificate from Transport Canada to flight test an EHang 216 in Quebec.
In September 2021, in a proof-of-concept flight, the company transferred donor lungs for transplant between two hospitals in Toronto, using a small multicopter drone, demonstrating the feasibility of delivering organs with zero carbon footprint aircraft.
United Therapeutics has funded developments by eVTOL pioneers Tier 1 Engineering, Beta Technologies, EHang, Zenith Altitude and Piasecki Aircraft Corp. Work with Tier 1 led to several years of flight testing a battery-electric Robinson R44, called it the e-R44 (see the description for December). Work with Piasecki has supported its hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered helicopter developments.
Current research is focused on demonstrating a hydrogen fuel-cell-powered Robinson R44, which the company refers to as an H2eR44 (shown).
References
· Martine Rothblatt: Serial Entrepreneur, Vertiflite, July/Aug 2022
· Tier 1 Engineering Pioneers Electric e-R44, Vertiflite, July/Aug 2022
· Hydrogen Begins to Take Off, Vertiflite, July/August 2024
· Unither Bioelectronics and Robinson Helicopter Partner on Hydrogen, Vertiflite, Sept/Oct 2024
— Text by Ken Swartz and Mike Hirschberg
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