Clare group set for take-off in aviation revolution

Dan Danaher on plans from a Clare-based group at the leading edge of change in aviation

Providing air taxis for players and patrons attending the 2027 Ryder Cup in Adare Manor is an achievable target, according to a new Shannon-based aviation consortium.

This is one of the exciting enterprises planned by the new group piloting a revolution in how air taxis and unmanned drones will completely change aviation over the coming years.

Skyports, Future Mobility Campus Ireland, Avtrain and Shannon Group have joined forces to establish Ireland’s first passenger and cargo vertiport at Shannon’s FMCI campus, encouraging participation and investment in Ireland’s Advanced Aerial Mobility (AAM) industry.

Their goal is the establishment of Ireland’s first air taxi service and routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations.

The consortium includes Skyports, the world’s leading passenger air taxi and cargo drone vertiport provider; Future Mobility Campus Ireland (FMCI), Ireland’s first test bed for future mobility located next to Shannon Airport; Avtrain, Europe’s leading drone training and certification body; and Shannon Group’s International Aviation Services Centre, which supports and promotes one of Ireland’s largest aviation clusters located at Shannon.

FCMI CEO Russell Vickers believes using air taxis to transport people attending the Ryder Cup from Shannon Airport to Adare Manor is a realistic target for the new group.

“Someone coming in off a jet in Shannon Airport will be able to take a sustainable air taxis to fly to Adare Manor or somewhere like the Aran Islands. Air taxis are charged up in a similar way to an electric car. The electric motors power the rollers.”

“These electric aircraft will be able to transport people up to 200 kilometres. These services could be used to service the whole West coast of Ireland, particularly places like the Aran Islands, West Kerry and West Clare.

“There will never be a motorway built to Lahinch and no one would want that. These locations are rural areas that can be hard to access from Shannon Airport. They are called air taxis because the operators want to make the price per mile very competitive like what a taxis would cost.

“A lot of the research is looking at how you transport people from an airport into a city. Trials are ongoing in Singapore, Florida and Japan.

“We think Ireland is very well suited for these trials. A new industry will be needed for pilot training. Companies will not be requiring the same level of pilot training for a 737.”

In the long term, he said the promoters want to reduce the price per mile to make air taxis affordable for everyone and not just the wealthy.

While air taxis are not certified to carry passengers at the moment, there are about eight multi-million Euro companies that are working to develop these aircraft.

FCMI want these companies to test and certify these new aircraft in Shannon.

Air taxis are electrically powered helicopters with between six and eight rollers on the top that are battery driven and are steered by a pilot.

They typically transport between four and six people and can also carry goods.

Avolon, the international aircraft leasing company and Vertical Aerospace have agreed a US$2 billion order to develop up to 500 electric eVTOL aircraft.

Authorities in Paris are planning to provide air taxis services when they host the Olympics in 2024.

With a scheduled opening at the end of March, the new Shannon Vertiport, which is the first of its kind in Ireland and one of the first in Europe, according to Mr Vickers, will be well placed to drive innovation in the development of eVTOL aircraft.

A vertiport is an advanced air mobility research hub to ensure drones can interact safely with air traffic control and air traffic.

It will include a Control Operations Centre and take-off and landing area as well as communications equipment to track drones.

It has eight landing zones as part of the test bed. The initial focus is on facilitating bigger drones that can carry up to 30 kilos.

In 2019, FCMI was awarded €800,000 funding Enterprise Ireland under the Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme to build the Vertiport.

In Phase Two, FCMI will be looking at developing charging infrastructure and operational facilities to deal with passenger like a mini airport.

Vickers said the Shannon region has a huge potential to shape future research and development of Advanced Aerial Mobility.

“FCMI is working with global companies on the development of advanced aerial mobility. There is a lot of global interest in this aviation innovation. FCMI are also part of EU projects researching the best way to manage manned and unmanned traffic together.”

Avtrain CEO Julie Garland believes these new aviation developments provide exciting new opportunities for businesses and travellers.

“This will revolutionise how we travel from place to place. We live on a relatively small island in European terms. The distances we need to travel from one end of the island to the other are relatively small.

“Travelling short distance journeys of a few hundred kilometres by air will be revolutionised by taking minutes rather than hours. We could be travelling at speeds of up to 180 kilometres an hour compared to much lower speeds on our roads.”

Last October, FMCI, Skyports, IAA, Shannon Airport, Avtrain and FedEx came together for Proof of Concept flights from FMCI’s base at Shannon Airport to Foynes Port operating up to 30 BVLOS flights per day to demonstrate the use case for integrating drones into supply chain logistics.

The 30-day trial involving beyond visual line of sight where the unmanned aircraft took off and flew by itself once it was given the all clear by Air Traffic Control.

For the purpose of the trial, a FedEx spokeswoman explained only test shipments were loaded onto the drones, which completed this journey in 13 minutes compared to at least 50 minutes by road outside peak times.

“FedEx saw potential to cut delivery times for certain types of packages to certain delivery areas.

“New innovations are constantly being tested at FedEx to expand the company’s technology portfolio. Testing of autonomous technology continues through a variety of pilot programs, including this trial with Skyport last October.”

Mr Vickers said this trial demonstrated these drones can operate safely in controlled airspace.

He pointed out they are well suited to transport high value goods to remote locations.

He said bigger drones have communication devices that can be picked up by Air Traffic Control.

“New European regulations have been introduced to manage drone and regular air traffic.

“There will be an Air Traffic Management System for drones like commercial jets. These two systems will talk to each other to manage traffic lanes.

“A lot of interesting research and technology will emerge as we are at the start of this journey. We think there is a lot of potential for new companies to come to Shannon.”

Deputy Cathal Crowe recently asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Information on Leo Varadkar Zoom on Leo Varadkar if his Department and the IDA have endeavoured to attract sustainable aviation industries and new aviation industries relating to devices such as drones to County Clare.

By targeting training and R&D, as well as other initiatives, through IDA Ireland, Minister Varadkar said the Government has helped to retain the competitiveness of the aviation industry in Shannon and across Ireland.

“Despite the devastation of the pandemic to the international travel industry, IDA has continued to market Shannon and the Mid-West for aviation-related activities.
FedEx, in conjunction with SkyPort, are currently testing business-to-business cargo deliveries from their Shannon Airport air-freight logistics hub to customers in Foynes in Limerick. What does all of this mean in practice?

“IDA Ireland anticipates a positive future for the industry and has welcomed several new initiatives in the Clare and Shannon areas.

“Should current market trends continue to improve globally, the future of the Shannon cluster looks positive, and IDA looks forward to supporting new activities and client companies in the months to come.”