Eve Holding, electric air taxi developer, announced this week that it will conduct an urban air mobility (UAM) simulation using Blade Air Mobility helicopters in September. The simulation will take place at a heliport facility in downtown Chicago over the course of three weeks and will include passenger flights.
Eve’s main objective is to study UAM operations, ground services, and passenger journeys in order to prepare for eventually launching operations of its own aircraft, an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle.
André Stein, Eve’s co-CEO, remarked in the announcement, “Simulating the eVTOL operation in Chicago allows us to study how people will experience this service and understand the entire ecosystem requirements for our product and services.”
The simulation will also inform the City of Chicago about the infrastructure that will be required to enable growth of UAM in the city.
In addition to Blade Air Mobility, other partners working with Eve to conduct the simulation include Republic Airways, Halo Aviation, Vertiport Chicago, ACCIONA, SkyWest, Inc., and Speedbird Aero, as well as Village of Tinley Park and Village of Schaumburg.
“It is essential to understand and address through these projects involving partners and the community the key challenges associated with the main pillars of the UAM ecosystem,” commented Luiz Mauad, Eve’s Vice President of Services and Fleet Operations.
During the simulation, passengers will be transported via helicopter on one of two routes from Vertiport Chicago, the heliport facility. The routes are each about 25 to 30 miles long.
Eve unveiled a full-sized mockup of its eVTOL’s cabin for the first time at the Farnborough Airshow last month.
In February of this year, Eve formalized the process to receive type certification with the Brazilian Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) for its eVTOL. The company is also working with the Federal Aviation Administration and Europe’s EASA in order to formalize the validation process for type certification for Eve worldwide.
Eve has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May, following a business combination with Zanite Acquisition Corp. Customers have signed Letters of Intent for orders of 1,910 of Eve’s aircraft, as of the end of June, according to the company’s Q2 financial results.
In its letter to shareholders, the company stated, “Eve’s strategic partnership with Embraer is our most significant competitive advantage. The partnership includes a royalty-free license to Embraer’s background IP to be used within the UAM market as well as access to thousands of skilled Embraer employees on a flexible, first-priority basis and use of Embraer’s global infrastructure.”
Eve’s financial results from the first half of 2022 included a net loss of $21,282,359, as well as total assets recorded at a little over $331 million. Eve’s total assets amounted to about $15.3 million at the end of last year. Net cash used in Eve’s operating activities totaled more than $13 million, up from $5 million for the first half of 2021.
“As we continue to advance our eVTOL development, Eve expects to transition part of its non-binding orders into firm contracts,” the company stated in its letter to shareholders. “Those firm orders may result in significant cash advances and inflow to the company through down payments that tend to occur several months prior to final eVTOL delivery.”
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