Australia: Skyportz secures orders in excess of 1,000 vertipad units following patent release at Farnborough Airshow

Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown has given an update following last month’s Farnborough Airshow, as it has announced three orders totalling in excess of 1,000 vertiport units to support the emerging electric air taxi industry.

The patented modular vertipad solution addresses a multitude of issues including passenger safety, downwash, outwash, battery fires, power generation, power storage, debris capture, noise, environmental impacts, insurance risks and more – all in an affordable package that can be placed on airport tarmacs or on new vertiport sites.

While no official announcement has been made, Skyportz has said initial orders have come in from an aircraft OEM and infrastructure investors.

The company expects in addition to aviation, property and infrastructure investors, it will be a supplier to other vertiport companies looking for a way to increase safety and comply with the performance-based standards of air regulators.

Newton-Brown said: “The patented design has not been released publicly as we are still tweaking our prototype. However, we have been happy to share the design with industry colleagues under Non-Disclosure Agreement and the response has been incredible.

“You can actually see the light bulbs going on as people realise we have cracked the nut of mass production of a vertipad product that is a vast improvement on a circle painted on a slab of concrete”.

Skyportz is still offering their impressive terminal designs with Contreras Earl Architecture, but it also wanted to create an entry level package to enable them to break the nexus between aviation and airports with their property partners.

It added the innovative design will enable operations from smaller footprints and that will have a significant and quantifiable benefit for both airports and property owners who are planning for vertiports.

Skyportz is in discussions with investors seeking to licence and produce the product globally.

Newton-Brown added: “With our product you will be able to establish operations safely on tighter sites or on larger sites, fit more landing pads. Profitable operations are going to need low capital costs and high throughput. You can do the sums on any site to calculate the capex savings utilising our product.”

“The mass vertiport infrastructure is the missing piece of the puzzle for this industry. Without new vertiport landing sites in places people want to go, the aircraft will never fulfil their potential. The elephant in the room is that no-one wants to pay millions of dollars for each vertiport. We have got the message and responded with this patent.”