Australian air taxi infrastructure pioneer Skyportz has released the design for a modular, turn-key vertiport that it describes as ‘revolutionary’.
Skyportz said it has partnered with several specialist companies on the construction and activation of its modular vertiports. Among them are companies that will help provide weather data, air traffic management systems, booking services, battery charging, last mile logistics and aviation operations.
Our first design is a beautiful tiny aluminium shell modular vertiport building that can be delivered to site in an open topped shipping container
Speaking from the Paris Air Show, Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown said: “The focus in the industry to date has been on larger vertiports located at existing airports. This is the low-hanging fruit which will form the essential backbone of an advanced air mobility ecosystem. However, if this industry is to reach its potential, we need to break the nexus between aviation and airports and let private property owners develop their own vertiports”.
He added: “At Skyportz we are focusing on affordable options that property developers can incorporate into new developments or retrofit into existing buildings”. Our first design is a beautiful tiny aluminium shell modular vertiport building that can be delivered to site in an open topped shipping container. It can be affordably shipped anywhere in the world. It is designed and costed and can be built and delivered right now”.
Everyone can sense this is going to be big but no-one wants to get burnt by over capitalising too early
According to Newton-Brown, the financials for vertiports requiring big investments do not stack up for now, with no aircraft yet certified and no immediate business model. the property players, he stressed, have an intense interest in getting on board with this revolution. The property sites are the missing piece of the mobility puzzle.
“Everyone can sense this is going to be big but no-one wants to get burnt by over capitalising too early. What the property industry needs is an entry level step to get a toe hold into the ecosystem. They want something that is small, fixed price and able to be easily installed”.
“With the Vertiport-in-a-Box, property owners can move fast to show their investors and tenants that they are ready to be part of this revolution – and the vertiport building can be used for other purposes, such as a bar or café, while we wait for aircraft to get certified”, said Newton-Brown.
“Skyportz will be getting our network of vertiports established now with enthusiastic property owners who will come back later for an aviation use permit. In the meantime they will have a vertiport building that could be used for other purposes”, he concluded.
The design released in Paris is the first in a range of modular designs to be released this year to suit various applications and price points.
The modular monocoque aluminium shells come in three sizes that can be joined together depending on space requirements. They range in price from €99,000 to €235,000 plus fit-out.
Image: Skyportz
