What’s an ‘eVTOL?’

“I look back over the arc of my own career having been a pilot for 42 years, and I’m just amazed by the amount of innovation that is taking place.”

—Billy Nolan, FAA Acting Administrator

Greetings Doroni family,

A few weeks ago, Anderson Cooper took to national airwaves as part of a 60 Minutes segment reporting on eVTOLS, or electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles, that may one day be the answer to bumper-to-bumper traffic. This was likely the first introduction to the nascent industry for many Americans, and in my opinion it couldn’t have come sooner.?

ICYMI: You can catch the segment here— Flying vehicles of the future: Companies racing to develop eVTOL "air taxis"

So… what’s an eVTOL?

An eVTOL combines the best features of a helicopter and airplane into one electric vehicle: they’re able to takeoff vertically (in as little as 20 seconds, without the need for rotors to warm up as in traditional helicopters) and transition into forward flight like planes, with wingspans that aid in efficiency. That means there’s little wait time, no need for runaways, and as they’re fully-electric, they’re extremely quiet and better for the environment.

The idea is simple—rather than sitting in traffic for upwards of an hour to commute from a downtown district to the nearest airport, you’d hop in an “air taxi” instead. These electric vehicles will take off from what are known as ‘Vertiports’ from the tops of buildings, parking garages, and helipads to transport you in a fraction of the time, without the noise and carbon emission of traditional helicopters.

Most people don’t realize that some of the same major technical, economic, and perception shifts that have happened in the last 10-20 years to enable electric vehicles to become as large as they have (just ask Tesla), are now finally making headway in modern aviation. Giant leaps in battery management systems, propulsion, and innovative avionics controls have paved the way for major air taxi developers like Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, and Lilium to produce prototypes capable of ferrying 4-6+ passengers upwards of 150 miles at top speeds of 150 MPH.

Most of these larger air taxis are still at least a couple of years away (many targeting 2024 for commercial launch) at least due in part to rigorous, complicated, and time-consuming certification procedures on the part of the FAA. But, it’s clear that the future of transportation is definitely on its way—with Morgan Stanley projecting the market for eVTOLs to reach $1T by 2040.?

The air taxi industry is already making a splash on Wall Street, with over $6B invested in 2021 alone and several developers going public and/or attracting sizeable private investments according to Mike Hirschberg, Executive Director of the Vertical Flight Society, the world’s leading non-profit organization working to advance vertical flight.?

Why should I care?

It’s already happening.?

If all goes according to plan, within just a few years you’ll be able to hail an air taxi as easily as an Uber, changing the way we commute and what the skies look like. Cities like Los Angeles, Miami, and Paris are already taking the first steps to see how they can integrate vertiport infrastructure in downtown regions and near airports.?

eVTOL developer Volocopter conducted the first crewed flight of its eVTOL in France back in March—with a goal of using its air taxi to ferry visitors for the Paris 2024 Olympics along two established flight paths in the densely populated city (which has about 6M visitors normally).?

Congress has passed legislation shepherding the industry in the form of the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act (S.516), the federal government is taking note, and the Department of Defense is exploring how eVTOLS can impact operations.?

NASA, the FAA, and the federal government are all researching and taking first steps to figure out what these flight paths will eventually look like in and between major cities, with the FAA also engaged in lengthy certification processes with multiple developers.

NASA, in particular, has a unique vision for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) which seeks to “help emerging aviation markets safely develop an air transportation system that moves people and cargo between places not served or underserved by aviation.” This mission is spread across various projects and partnerships, some even centering on how eVTOLs can help with disaster response and with medical emergencies.?

Doroni Aerospace—Who We Are

Since 2016, I’ve been pursuing the same dream of bypassing bumper-to-bumper traffic that Anderson Cooper talked about on 60 Minutes. As CEO/Co-Founder of Doroni Aerospace, based in Miami, it’s my mission to bring safe and consumer-first air transportation to the eVTOL industry with the Doroni H1—a safe and practical personal aircraft that uses an intuitive and easy-to-use control system that simplifies the inherent complexities of flight.

We just completed our first crowdfunding raise on StartEngine.com, reaching our $1.07M max offering early, and recently achieved a new company valuation of $159M, up from the previous $14M. Our team has the experience, technical ingenuity, and drive to help get the industry off the ground—and we’re doing it with a personal eVTOL that anyone can purchase (with a commercial launch in the second half of 2024) and park in their home garage.?

To learn more about Doroni Aerospace, please visit?www.doroni.io or email us at [email protected]