Eve will conduct an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) simulation in Chicago, Illinois. The flights will be operated with Blade Air Mobility helicopters as substitutes of the future eVTOLs of the Embraer group company, which are still under development.
Eve’s goal is to study operations, ground services and passenger experience, as well as identify operators’ needs. In addition, the City of Chicago will gain knowledge of the ecosystem needed to launch UAM services.
The simulations will run for three weeks, starting with ground tests on September 12. Two days later, flights with passengers on Blade’s helicopters will begin, which will last until September 30th. Each route will cost, on average, US$ 150.
The ground tests will be carried out at Vertiport Chicago, located on a helipad in the center of the city. In this stage, services, infrastructure and equipment requirements for the eVTOLs will be simulated.
The flights will be carried out on two routes, in both directions: Vertiport Chicago to Schaumburg and Vertiport Chicago to Tinley Park.
“We are wrapping up preparations to execute these simulations seamlessly and look forward to helping prepare Chicago for a local zero-emission UAM solution that is quiet, efficient, and sustainable.”
André Stein, co-CEO of Eve.
Partners
For this Chicago simulation, Eve formed a consortium of partners including not only Blade, but also Republic Airways, Halo Aviation, Vertiport Chicago, Tinley Park, Schaumburg, ACCIONA, SkyWest and Speedbird Aero.
Brazilian company Speedbird Aero, which has experience with Drone Delivery in Brazil, will support Eve with the operation of an air logistics experience. This will help Eve gain a broader view of the UAM ecosystem.
