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The Future of Advanced Air Mobility

The U.S.-based EmbraerX division of Brazilian aerospace group Embraer is making plans for its first eVTOL aircraft. In April 2017, Embraer was announced as a partner by Uber for its planned Uber Air ride-share program. However, this partnership was nullified in December of 2020 when Uber Elevate was acquired by Joby Aviation.

As of August 2020, it had provided almost no information about this program, beyond showing a design for what is expected to be a four-seat, all-electric vehicle. This showed eight propellers attached to what appeared to be four beams connected to a pair of narrow, parallel wings protruding from the top of the fuselage, presumably to provide vertical lift. At the rear of the aircraft, there is a pair of ducted fans for cruise flight. 

On July 27, 2020, the company filed a U.S. trademark application for a product called Eve by EmbraerX. The application described this as "an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle that can transport people." Previously, the company had used the working title of DreamMaker for the program and, during 2019, appeared to be holding a competition to come up with an alternative name.

During the same month, Embraer also reported that it had begun using a flight simulator to evaluate flight control parameters and control laws for the aircraft. 

EmbraerX has been working with air traffic control providers, pilots, and other experts to devise plans for urban airspace management that also involve its Atech subsidiary.

It would appear that EmbraerX's eVTOL ambitions have survived the recent budget cuts enforced in the wake of Boeing's decision to walk away from a long-planned merger with Embraer. This was confirmed in October 2020, when Embraer announced the formation of a new subsidiary called Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, which will oversee all aspects of the program.

As of December 1, 2020, Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions announced its upcoming partnership with Airservices Australia, and developed a new concept of operations (ConOps) for their air taxi market. Eve and Airservices intend to continue their partnered development of Urban Air Traffic Management solutions. The Australian government-owned organization will utilize its existing simulation technology to better understand how air taxis can be integrated into Melbourne airspace. While exact timetables are yet unknown for the aircraft, Eve hopes to see flights in Melbourne as early as 2023, expanding to fit the ConOps to other locales if proven successful.

Timeline

Embraer announced the formation of a new subsidiary called Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions that will oversee all aspects of the Eve eVTOL aircraft program.

partnership

At the April 2017 Uber Elevate conference, Embraer was announced to be one of six prospective partners for the Uber Air ride-sharing service.

Outlook

Our objective assessment of this program’s probable success.

FutureFlight assesses the probability of success for a new aircraft program by considering the following criteria:

  • Total investment funds available in proportion to the anticipated cost of getting an aircraft certified and in service
  • A company’s in-house capability (in terms of numbers of engineers, technical staff, and customer support teams)
  • The past experience of the company and its senior leadership in developing aircraft
  • The caliber and past experience of key program partners
  • Whether key aircraft systems have been selected and are available for use
  • Whether the preliminary design review has been completed
  • Whether the design for the full-scale prototype has been completed
  • Whether the type certification process has been formally initiated with an appropriate regulator
  • Whether the company has achieved a first flight with a full-scale prototype
  • The number of hours logged in a flight test program
  • Whether type certification has been achieved
  • The number of orders and commitment received for the aircraft
  • Whether the company has adequate facilities to begin series production of the aircraft
Our Methodology

Embraer certainly has the capability and ambition to develop a new eVTOL aircraft. By comparison with other leading aerospace groups, it has said almost nothing publicly about these plans, which makes it hard to provide a detailed assessment of the company's prospects.

Until the dramatic collapse of the merger between Boeing and Embraer in April 2020, it had seemed possible that the two companies might combine their efforts in the eVTOL sector. 

In July 2020, EmbraerX broke its silence to reveal that it has been using a flight simulator to do development work on the planned eVTOL's flight controls. On July 27, it filed a trademark application for an eVTOL design called Eve by EmbraerX, apparently confirming that it intends to go it alone and that the program has survived the financial cutbacks that resulted from the shock of Boeing walking away from the long-anticipated merger.

Then in October 2020, the secretive program took even more concrete form with the announcement of a new subsidiary called Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, which will be responsible for bringing the new aircraft to market. Embraer said that it will seek further partnerships for the program and did not mention any further funding requirements.

In December 2020, Eve announced an agreement Airservices Australia to begin strategizing integration of their air taxi services in Melbourne.

Eve Models

Eve Specifications

local vtol Lift + Cruise
Imperial/Metric

Performance

  • Passenger Capacity
    4
  • Range
    60 mi
  • Cruise Speed
    n/a
  • Powerplant Type
    n/a
  • Power Source
    electric
  • Endurance
    n/a
  • Max Altitude
    3,300 ft
  • Takeoff Distance
    n/a
  • Landing Distance
    n/a
  • Empty Weight
    n/a
  • MGTOW
    2,200 lb
  • Payload Weight
    n/a

Dimensions

  • Length
    n/a
  • Width
    n/a
  • Height
    n/a
  • Wingspan
    n/a
EmbraerX boarding
Embraer DreamMaker

Embraer has released almost no details about its planned eVTOL aircraft, beyond a few comments made by Embraer president and CEO Paulo Cesar de Souza in December 2017. 

As of August 2020, it had still provided almost no information about this program, beyond showing a design for what is expected to be a four-seat, all-electric vehicle. This showed eight propellers attached to what appeared to be four beams connected to a pair of narrow, parallel wings protruding from the top of the fuselage, presumably to provide vertical lift. At the rear of the aircraft, there is a pair of ducted fans for cruise flight. 

On July 27, 2020, the company filed a U.S. trademark application for a product called Eve by EmbraerX. The application described this as "an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle that can transport people." Previously, it had been using DreamMaker as a working title for the program. Embraer claims that the aircraft will have operating costs that are 50 percent lower than those of existing helicopters, while also being 80 percent quieter.

During the same month, Embraer also reported that it had begun using a flight simulator to evaluate flight control parameters and control laws for the aircraft. Then in October 2020, Embraer announced the formation of a new subsidiary called Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions to oversee all aspects of developing the aircraft.

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