“Fly along with me,” sings Dave Grohl, “I can’t quite make it alone.” We can imagine eVTOL developers singing along to this as they work towards autonomous flight, as so many of the vehicle models will have to commence operations – however briefly – with a pilot onboard.
But the ultimate viability of the eVTOL proposition relies in no small part on achieving certification for (and confidence in) autonomous flight as quickly as possible. It will take time for aviation authorities, local councils and the travelling public to get comfortable with this, but the economic reality is that the industry will only be able to operate at a sustainable scale if each vehicle’s full capacity is available for paying passengers or revenue-generating cargo. We need to find a way to facilitate safe pilot-free flight while also managing the technological and operational challenges autonomous flight presents – as Dave sings, hook me up a new revolution.