AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2021 - 87

Flight Design F2
Joby S4
electric motor; the MagniX motor has also
been tested in a Cessna Grand Caravan.
And Ampaire, which had been testing
its hybridized Cessna 337 Skymaster.
The Skymaster's stock 210-horsepower
Continental IO-360 forward engine is
replaced with an electric motor; its batteries
are in a belly-mounted pod. Prototypes
were to be tested by Hawaii's Mokulele
Airlines on inter-island test hops. In
February 2021, Ampaire was acquired by
California's Surf Air Mobility.
Perhaps the most intriguing developments
in the past few months are the way
some eVTOL enterprises have attracted
truly huge levels of investment-Joby,
Archer, and Lilium in particular. They've
all made use of special purpose acquisition
companies (SPACs) as methods of obtaining
stock market listings without facing the
scrutiny involved in advancing traditional
stock initial public offerings (IPOs). SPACs
merge with companies they deem promising,
then take a majority stake in a company
Lilium Jet
already listed on a stock market. This tactic
is sometimes called a " reverse merger. "
Usually, it's the listed, public company that
buys private companies. With SPACs, it can
be the other way around.
When finalized, Joby could receive a
tidy $1.6 billion from an SPAC merger with
Reinvent Technology Partners (NYSE:
RTP) that valued Joby at $6.6 billion; Joby
says it will be listed on the New York Stock
Exchange. Lilium was valued at $3.3 billion
in a deal with SPAC Qell Acquisition
Corp. (NASDAQ: QELL). Archer agreed
to a merger with SPAC Atlas Crest
Investment Corp. NYSE: ACIC) that valued
the company at $2.7 billion; it stands
to raise as much as $1.1 billion and should
also be listed (NYSE: ACHR). Volocopter
got $239 million from a merger with
BlackRock (NYSE: BLK).
Buying one of these stock offerings,
like any investment, implies a level of
confidence in the company's future. Soon
we'll see how the markets react. However,
it may be difficult to cultivate trust in the
Wild West atmosphere of today's e-aviation.
So, are you ready to step up to the bar?
Any hesitancy would be understandable
at this point. To be sure, the
excitement is attractive. But there's a culture
of secrecy that surrounds most of
these startups, and plenty of information
hoarding. When companies present
themselves as little more than a website
and some terse press releases, you wonder
if they're hiding something, and why.
It makes reporters skeptical.
But we in general aviation are a hopeful
bunch, more than willing to give new
technologies a fighting chance. That said,
there's a " seen it before " groupthink.
Remember flying cars, ultralights, and very
light jets? Even so, we'll continue covering
this evidently burgeoning trend as it continues
to evolve. One person on our staff is
enthusiastic about one-person hoverbikes,
so don't say I didn't warn you.
tom.horne@aopa.org
AOPA PILOT / September 2021
87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2021

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