Helicopter Inc., has placed an order for aircraft, service support and Vector, Eve’s urban air traffic management (ATM) software during an AAM conference in San Francisco.
Eve Air Mobility has signed a Letter of Intent with Helicopters Inc. to deliver up to 50 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This comes in-line with the Revolution Aero AAM conference where Eve was participating in discussion around the future of air mobility, and how to support and scale it.
The eVTOL aircraft by Eve, utilizes a lift+cruise configuration with eight dedication propellers for vertical flight and fixed wings to fly on cruise, with no change in the position of these components during flight. The aircraft also features an electric pusher powered by dual electric motors that provide propulsion redundancy with the goal of ensuring the highest levels of safety and performance.
The new agreement stipulates that Helicopters, Inc will also have access to Eve TechCare, an all-in-one suite of solutions designed to streamline eVTOL operations by providing cutting-edge operational solutions, expert customer support and comprehensive services. Vector is also included in this agreement, an agnostic software solution designed to efficiently navigate current and future advanced air mobility operations.
Megha Bhatia, chief commercial officer of Eve Air Mobility, said, “We appreciate Helicopters Inc.’s confidence in Eve by purchasing up to 50 of our eVTOL aircraft. Helicopters Inc. is a recognized leader, safely operating aircraft in more than 30 metropolitan areas throughout the U.S., and we are excited to add such a credible vertical lift operator to our list of customers. We look forward to working with them on deploying our all-electric eVTOL aircraft as part of their extensive U.S. operation.”
Tom Wagner, president of Helicopters Inc, also stated, “Eve Air Mobility’s maturity and reliability, backed by Embraer, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial aircraft, was a key factor in our decision to select Eve for our future eVTOL aircraft. The eVTOL aircraft will provide numerous advantages including competitive cost of operation, fewer parts and optimized structures and systems, not to mention a lower noise footprint and environmental benefits.”
Helicopters Inc. and Eve’s relationship can be traced back to a simulation the two companies collaborated on in Chicago, IL. in 2022. A project that saw Eve, partnering with Blade, Inc. and Helicopters Inc., using one of the latters helicopters to replicate future eVTOL operations. The objective being to transport passengers from the Vertiport Chicago facility to two helistops located northwest and southwest of Chicago.
The future for Eve and Helicopters Inc, will see them working together in refining potential launch cities in target markets, aircraft maintenance and servicing requirements, and along with ecosystem partners, analysing the additional infrastructure requirements needed to support both safe and efficient operations. Point-to-point connections and airport shuffle connections across the United States are the target uses.
