From the editor: eVTOLS and ultralights

Some are even saying that 74 cities will have Uber or Uber-like UAM services shuttling passengers from one part of town to another. And it appears that more and more of the aviation community is getting on board the eVTOL concept. Even the National Business Aviation Association—an organization traditionally linked to turboprops and jets—has signed on; it had a special display featuring eVTOL concept and demonstration aircraft at its annual convention in October.

Is this really where we’re headed, as so many seem to agree? Or is this a manufacturer-led publicity frenzy, riding on Uber’s concept of interurban transport and whipped into a wave of enthusiasm by websites featuring fancy animations of concept vehicles?

I’ve been there before. In the early 1980s, ultralights had a similar heyday. They were going to restore the pilot population to new heights, and be a stepladder to more capable, traditional airplanes. Everyone bought into it. AOPA had an ultralight division; so did EAA. We put out a bimonthly magazine—Ultralight Pilot—and yours truly was the editor. Yes, believe it! This Turbine Pilot editor once swung beneath Dacron wings, steering by weight-shift.

Ultralights grew in a popularity fueled by its manufacturers, and flourished in an environment nearly free of regulation and accountability. No one really knew how many pilots owned or flew ultralights. No one kept track of accidents, at first. When AOPA established its ultralight division, we registered pilots and tried our best to record accident statistics. It was a valiant effort.

The craze started to unravel after the fatal crash June 27, 1982, of a Pterodactyl flown by Washington, D.C., television personality Steve Douglas. He wasn’t buckled in and fell 1,000 feet after a wing folded. And the whole thing was captured on film and broadcast on ABC’s 20/20, a prime-time television news magazine. It seemed every pilot who ever flew or contemplated flying an ultralight, every spouse, and every relative soon cast a cold eye on the fledgling sport. The ultralight craze began to peter out after that broadcast. Never mind that Douglas was simulating an out-of-control condition for the camera—by pumping the stabilator up and down until the G forces caused the wing to fail.

As with eVTOLs, there were a number of odd-looking ultralight designs back then. And odd control systems. Stall speed was 24 knots; VNE was 55 knots. That’s a flight envelope with a range of just 31 knots. Were they easy to fly, as manufacturers touted? Probably not, for those familiar with conventional, certified aircraft. Ultralights were kit-built, and free of certification rules. Their pilots, too—although some adhered to self-regulatory training standards.

So, when I see an activity with features that in many ways mirror the ultralight experience, forgive me if I trend skeptical at times. However, I do want to see the UAM concept come to fruition. The innovative designs we’re seeing today can bring us to an environmentally friendly means of travel, free of the hassles of commuting by car. Unlike ultralights, major companies with aviation backgrounds—think Bell, Boeing, and Airbus—have invested their capital and expertise in developing eVTOL designs. This makes me believe that they’ll come about, although probably with hybrid, internal combustion-plus-electric propulsion systems for longer flights. And, in time, the promised goal of autonomous, pilotless flight may be achieved.

Even so, I wonder about the effects of a first crash.AOPA

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