Uber madness continues: Skyport design

AggieMike88

AggieMike88

Touchdown! Greaser!
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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/9/17337680/uber-flying-car-skyport-design-concept

Even if it never happens, Uber is at least accomplishing something.... getting their pushing their name/brand into the news.

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Isn't having an airport for this service defeats the idea of it being a taxi or "car"? Seems to be that they are envisioning this to work like a conventional heliport. Just for more of less rich people. Bring on the TSA...
 
genna said:
Isn't having an airport for this service defeats the idea of it being a taxi or "car"? Seems to be that they are envisioning this to work like a conventional heliport. Just for more of less rich people. Bring on the TSA...
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Right. And then you still need to uber to where you're actually going.... I see what they did there.
 
If that's what they want to build they can do it right now and run helicopters. I have the feeling that the craft they're envisioning are going to be harder to fly, more complex and more expensive.
 
steingar said:
If that's what they want to build they can do it right now and run helicopters. I have the feeling that the craft they're envisioning are going to be harder to fly, more complex and more expensive.
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Lol, can you imagine the cost of a cross-town trip in a helicopter with "surge pricing" in effect?! Hope the $2,500 ride was worth it!
 
Well there goes the cheap alternative,so you Uber to the terminal ,then take a pilotless drone(taxi) to another terminal,then an Uber car to your destination. Just building the terminals ,make it cost ineffective.
 
steingar said:
If that's what they want to build they can do it right now and run helicopters. I have the feeling that the craft they're envisioning are going to be harder to fly, more complex and more expensive.
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This article provides some information on the design of the aircraft:

https://www.wired.com/story/uber-unveils-flying-taxi/

"The concept is all-electric, and seats four people plus a pilot, in single file in a slim, cylindrical body with large windows. The design, reminiscent of a catamaran, features streamlined nacelles suspended high on each side, on slender supports. These are the battery pods. On top of each, and atop two smaller, even farther outboard pods, sit stacked rotors, which provide the electric vertical lift for takeoff and landing. At the very back, where the tail would be on a conventional plane, a propeller faces forwards, ready to power horizontal flight. There’s just one door, on one side, to simplify ground operations. No need for extra steps or worrying about people exiting on the wrong side into an active landing pad.

The concept is supposed to cruise at between 150 and 200 miles per hour, up to 2,000 feet above the ground. A single charge will be good enough for 60 miles of range, and Uber expects the thing to need just five minutes to top up the batteries between flights. Initially, they’ll have a human pilot, but eventually, they should be autonomous.

The thing is, Uber has no intention of building this thing, at least not on any sort of scale. Like it is with cars, Uber wants to be the middleman, connecting pilots and passengers. It hopes to launch a commercial service, UberAir, with demonstration flights starting in 2020 in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Los Angeles."
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From this, not only are they faced with the regulatory challenges, but also battery technology. Something light enough for aircraft, ability to fully recharge in 5 minutes, and have the required output to sustain flight with a load of 5 people, some bags, and the aircraft for 30 minutes.

If they Uber did develop that, then I'd think there would be more profitability in licensing the battery tech to non-aviation industries.

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I also question the quantity of customers who will want this service in markets other than LA or NY. With those congested markets, I can see a short hop air service being of interest to those who can afford it. Bu in DFW, we love our cars too much, and a 60 mile hop isn't useful.
 
steingar said:
Their new flying whatevers aren't going to be any less expensive.
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Didn't imply that they would be. I was just remarking at how unlikely it would be for anyone to actually use this service unless the bill for a 30-minute helicopter ride doesn't phase them.
 
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