March-April 2023 - 36

AIRPORT GURU
AUTHOR Curt Castagna
Urban Air Mobility:
The Infrastructure Challenge
URBAN AIR Mobility (UAM) is envisioned as a safe and
efficient aviation transportation system using highly
automated aircraft to transport passengers or cargo
at lower altitudes within urban and suburban areas.
Organizations in industry and
government are investing significant
resources to cultivate an ecosystem
that
supports
these operations -
including manufacturers of electric
vertical takeoff and landing aircraft
(eVTOL), builders of takeoff and
landing areas, and researchers who
are studying how to conduct UAM
operations safely and efficiently alongside
other airspace users.
In 2018, the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA)
presented a study that evaluated potential
takeoff and landing areas in the
San Francisco Bay Area and concluded
that the door-to-door time savings
resulting from UAM could be significant
for trips greater than 15 miles.
However, it noted that several technical
challenges must be overcome to
achieve UAM operations at a higher
tempo and higher density than can
be accommodated by the current air
traffic control (ATC) system.
Over the past few years, NASA
has been working in collaboration
with partners and stakeholders to
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CURT CASTAGNA
Curt Castagna, president and CEO
of Aeroplex Group Partners, is also
president and CEO of the National
Air Transportation Association,
the immediate past chair of the Los
Angeles County Airport Commission,
and president of the Van Nuys and Long
Beach airport associations. A certified
private and instrument-rated pilot, he
continues to instruct courses in aviation
administration at Cypress Community
College and Cal State Los Angeles.
develop detailed concepts of operations
for UAM airspace integration at
different stages of operational maturity,
including:
* Emergent UAM operations:
Characterized by low-tempo,
low-density flights along a small
set of fixed routes between a few
takeoff and landing areas
* Early expanded UAM operations:
Characterized by higher-tempo,
higher-density flights in a small
network of vertiports feeding
a common hub location and
managed by UAM operator and
third-party services
* Mature UAM operat ions:
Characterized by high-tempo,
high-density flights in a network
with multiple hub locations,
potentially involving more vehicles
and operations in an area than are
currently supported in the NAS
It is expected that initial UAM
operations will be for demonstration
purposes and will be required to
comply with current airspace rules and
regulations, similar to current VFR
operations. Most likely, these UAM
flights will be conducted by human
pilots onboard the aircraft and with
current ATC procedures.
However, a number of organizations
are pursuing UAM concepts that
extend the range of possibilities.
Ultimately, UAM will not only
require navigable airspace to support
increased air traffic in urban environments,
but the airport infrastructure
to support public access to electrically
powered aircraft - including a reliable
36 \ AIRPORT BUSINESS / MARCH/APRIL 2023
Joby JAS4-1 Tiltrotor eVTOL.
COURTESY OF JOBY AVIATION
source of electrical power and vertiports
that serve as multi-modal hubs
for passengers to easily transition from
one transportation mode to another.
In September 2022, the FAA
released vertiport design standards
to support the safe integration of
advanced air mobility aircraft that will
transport passengers or cargo at lower
altitudes in rural, urban and suburban
areas. The design standards are
intended to provide key information
for airport sponsors, owners and operators
to begin development of facilities
that will support eVTOL operations.
Innovative solutions are needed to
ensure UAM operations are not only
safe and efficient, but environmentally
responsible and financially viable.
While the development of eVTOL
prototypes and federal regulations
are moving forward, the issue of who
will pay for UAM infrastructure at
our nation's general aviation airports
remains unaddressed.
Can these costs be passed along to
the consumer? It seems neither feasible
nor reasonable for airports to
place this responsibility on its tenant
businesses and fixed-base operators.
Funding and building a safe, efficient
and sustainable UAM ecosystem will
require partnerships and collaborative
efforts among airport sponsors,
aircraft manufacturers, infrastructure
developers, and local and federal
governments. The future of UAM
depends on it. 
Read more at
www.AviationPros.com/553029043
http://www.AviationPros.com/553029043
March-April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March-April 2023
