Go Fly with Those Magnificent People in Their Flying Machines

One could not help but think of the 1960s movie, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, after seeing the latest generation of personal flying vehicle prototypes at the GoFly Prize Fly Off at Silicon Valley’s Moffett Field.  It is one thing to watch someone flying a personal, prototype vehicle in an online video, but seeing these vehicles in person gives an appreciation for the resourcefulness, the grit, the intelligence and the guts required to conceive, build and fly one of these magnificent machines.

As background, and as explained in the above interview with Executive Director, Mike Hirschberg, the intent of the GoFly Prize is to spark innovation in personal travel. Simply, the winner of the GoFly Prize will be the first to

“Design and build a safe, quiet, ultra-compact, near-VTOL personal flying device capable of flying 20 miles while carrying a single person.”

The idea of a prize to spur innovation is near to Hirschberg’s heart as to advance the notion that human-powered vertical could be possible. Although it took that prize, members of the winning team, Aerovelo, brought their knowledge to help design the Kitty Hawk Flyer.

And what future is sparked from the GoFly Prize is anyone’s guess. It may not be that every person has a personal flying machine, but it is easy to see how personal flight could be a gamechanger for certain use-cases. For instance, it could be a lifesaver, as a first responder could literally skip traffic and fly directly to someone needing aid.

The GoFly Prize Fly Off was held in conjunction with NASA’s Technical Talks on advanced air mobility. Speaking at that event, Michael Huerta. Former FAA Administrator and now a Senior Advisor with Macquarie Capital and Kitty Hawk, implored the flying start-ups to take risks and talk to the FAA early in the process.

Echoing what Hirschberg says in the above interview, Stefan Heuser, Investment Team Head for Hyundai’s CRADLE, emphasized that Hyundai is shifting to a mobility company, which include urban air mobility, robotics and, even, infrastructure.

The convergence of different businesses was also heard in the statement by Jim Lockheed, Venture Associate of JetBlue Technology Ventures when he suggested that, although there may not be a JetBlue eVTOL, there could be a seamless point-to-point journey via a JetBlue “ticket” or experience. Instead of originating at an airport, the journey would start and end with an eVTOL flight in a town not served by an airport (e.g. Palo Alto, CA to Armonk, NY).

The experts on the venture panel suggested that commercial eVTOL flights could begin within 5 to 10-years and the most likely cities would be Los Angeles, Dallas, Dubai, Munich or somewhere else in Germany, and San Francisco. Of course, social acceptance is going to be probably the biggest factor determining commercial success (which is why CAMI is so important to this fledgling industry).

In the meantime, aspirants will still have the GoFly Prize and its million-dollar bounty as an incentive to continue to refine their developments. At the February 2019 event, Team teTra from Japan won the Pratt & Whitney Disruptor Prize, but no team won the grand prize. This has to be a measure of relief for entrants who believe they needed just a little more time to win the prize.

Stay tuned for a future ViodiTV interview with one such contestant.