evtol

According to NASA officials, both “advanced air mobility” and “national campaign” better reflect the goals of the undertaking, which is planned as a series of field demonstrations to evaluate the readiness of new types of aircraft and airspace management systems. The demonstrations will progress in stages to encompass a full range of scenarios under varying weather and traffic conditions — including, but not limited to, scaled urban air taxi operations.

As a first step, the NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI) and the Air Force’s Agility Prime program have issued a request for information (RFI) seeking inputs from “suppliers and manufacturers of all types of parts, sub-systems, and systems” of AAM vehicles — a term that encompasses a variety of novel eVTOL aircraft, including those designed for urban air mobility (UAM). “The intent is to map and share the current AAM supply chain via an electric platform, model and simulate the network’s ability to scale, and ensure that the industry has the human capital to meet future needs,” the RFI states. “The electronic platform, and modeling and simulation capabilities will also help connect original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with current and aspiring aerospace suppliers.”

RFI respondents are asked to submit basic information about their companies, plus feedback on several topics including challenges in sourcing parts, downstream suppliers, and raw materials; and challenges in finding the human capital required to build the AAM/UAM ecosystem.