Embraer sees 2024 commercial launch for Uber flying cabs

wheelsup

Well-Known Member
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/embraer-sees-2024-commercial-launch-055151490.html

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A network of electric aircraft Uber Technologies Inc is developing with Embraer SA is likely to launch commercially in 2024, the Brazilian planemaker's chief executive said on Friday, adding a year to the latest forecast from the ride-hailing company.

Embraer Chief Executive Paulo Cesar de Souza told journalists the business model and financial commitments of the partnership have not been defined. Uber Chief Product Officer Jeff Holden said last month that a paid, intra-city flying taxi service could start in 2023.

Souza said the companies would soon determine specifications of the proposed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft.

Engineers are projecting one-tonne vehicles transporting a pilot and four passengers at an altitude of 800 to 1,000 meters (2,600-3,300 feet), Souza said. The aircraft will be powered by batteries that can charge in as little as five minutes between flights, he added.

The project has provided an outlet for engineering resources at Embraer, whose newest planes — a military cargo jet and a new generation of passenger jets — are well into their flight testing campaigns.

Some 65 international delegations have shown interest in the KC-390 military transport aircraft that will enter the Brazilian Air Force next year, Souza said.

The transition to a new commercial jet line-up is pressuring operations, but Souza said Embraer would meet the bottom end of its 2017 profit margin and aircraft delivery targets.
 
”Engineers are projecting one-tonne vehicles transporting a pilot and four passengers at an altitude of 800 to 1,000 meters (2,600-3,300 feet), Souza said”.

Wait, wait, wait. That’s 7 years away. What about all this talk of pilotless planes? Seems that this would have been a perfect platform to debut this tech.
 
Wait, wait, wait. That’s 7 years away. What about all this talk of pilotless planes? Seems that this would have been a perfect platform to debut this tech.

1. This concept is insane 2. I am trying to imagine the concept where any vehicle that weighs one ton has any appreciable payload with a beefy enough powerplant and fuel or batteries if it's electric, plus a decent payload. Like what does a C-150 or R-22 weigh? 3. What does this do for rich people that helicopters don't already do?
 
Airbus has been working on a pilotless model that looks somewhat promising. Think about it as a product for getting people from downtown areas to the Airport, much like the helicopter system they had in NYC many years ago. Also perhaps a good EMS delivery aircraft that doesn't consistently kill a lot of people.
 
1. This concept is insane 2. I am trying to imagine the concept where any vehicle that weighs one ton has any appreciable payload with a beefy enough powerplant and fuel or batteries if it's electric, plus a decent payload. Like what does a C-150 or R-22 weigh? 3. What does this do for rich people that helicopters don't already do?
I’m having a hard time imagining these being less than an R22 or R44 (in price or weight).
 
Why is it so hard for companies to call it a small electric aircraft that will have significantly lower operating and maintenance costs then an conventionally powered aircraft? The only way it will resemble Uber is that you will probably be able to book your flight when you need it via an app rather than scheduled service. I believe their usable weight specs will probably be accurate. You can get a lot more power from an electric motor than you can a similar sized conventional one. Same reason why that new Tesla roadster is one of the fastest production cars ever made and one of the heaviest.
 
Why is it so hard for companies to call it a small electric aircraft that will have significantly lower operating and maintenance costs then an conventionally powered aircraft? The only way it will resemble Uber is that you will probably be able to book your flight when you need it via an app rather than scheduled service. I believe their usable weight specs will probably be accurate. You can get a lot more power from an electric motor than you can a similar sized conventional one. Same reason why that new Tesla roadster is one of the fastest production cars ever made and one of the heaviest.
Yeah, but the weight of batteries vs gas more than counteracts that.
 
Why is it so hard for companies to call it a small electric aircraft that will have significantly lower operating and maintenance costs then an conventionally powered aircraft? The only way it will resemble Uber is that you will probably be able to book your flight when you need it via an app rather than scheduled service. I believe their usable weight specs will probably be accurate. You can get a lot more power from an electric motor than you can a similar sized conventional one. Same reason why that new Tesla roadster is one of the fastest production cars ever made and one of the heaviest.
Yeah, but the weight of batteries vs gas more than counteracts that.
 
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