New in mobility

A tepid funding report from McKinsey & Company about the future air mobility industry did little to quell the enthusiasm for all things new in mobility—aviation and otherwise—at the event, conducted at Bentonville Municipal Airport/Louise M. Thaden Field. Sometimes dubbed the Davos of mobility, UP.Summit, sponsored by the investment group UP.Partners, included some 300 attendees for a day and a half of TED Talk-style presentations and demonstrations of an array of emerging technologies.

Everything from reusable rockets and ramjets to self-driving bulldozers and Tesla Cybertrucks was discussed and showcased. Tesla provided 21 of its stainless-steel electric pickup trucks to shuttle attendees between hotels and the airport events.

Here’s some of what we saw:

The husband-and-wife team of Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter updated attendees on their plan to send passengers to the edge of space in a plush capsule elevated by a balloon the size of a football stadium. Their company, Space Perspective, launched a test balloon from a ship near St. Petersburg, Florida, and recovered the balloon and pressurized capsule called Spaceship Neptune-Excelsior in September, paving the way for passenger flights to begin soon.

JetZero envisions future airline flights to be considerably more comfortable and efficient thanks to its blended wing body aircraft in development. Tom O’Leary, CEO and co-founder, said the design will decrease fuel burn and emissions by 50 percent compared to conventional airliners while still using existing engines. A version of the design will be adaptable to hydrogen power when that becomes practical. In a passenger configuration, O’Leary indicated an airline could save $1 million a month in fuel for an aircraft the size of a Boeing 787. The JetZero design can carry 250 passengers on transatlantic flights at Mach 0.80.

Hermeus is promising a dramatic increase in airline travel speed with its proposed Mach 5 airliner. The hypersonic aircraft is undergoing testing now, according to A.J. Piplica, CEO and co-founder of the company. Among the products being developed is an uncrewed hypersonic aircraft for the military. Ultimately, the company will produce Halcyon, a 125-seat hypersonic airliner capable of flying from New York to London in 90 minutes, Piplica said.

In the fast, but not-quite-so-speedy department, Blake Scholl highlighted Boom, the Colorado company developing a supersonic transport aircraft. Its one-third-scale XB–1 aircraft first flew in March. Additional flight tests were scheduled for this fall. The full-scale airplane—called Overture—with 64 business class seats, will be capable of flying from San Francisco to Honolulu in about two and a half hours, and from Tokyo to Seattle in about four and half hours. It will use conventional fanjet engines. It is customizing a turbofan engine, dubbed Symphony, for production in 2029.

But not every discussion at the show was quite so lofty. More down to Earth—or actually, more down to water, is Regent, creator of a 12-motor, all-electric “seaglider.” Designed to fly from coastal port to port at only about 30 feet above the water, the seaglider will provide new transportation options to the 40 percent of the world’s population who live in coastal areas, according to CEO Billy Thalheimer. The hydrofoil will first lift the craft out of the water on a retractable foil and ultimately lift into the air as it gains speed, flying in “ground” effect for up to 180 miles at speeds up to 180 mph carrying 12 passengers.

Those just looking for a fun aviation experience flocked to see the Zapata AirScooter. Designed and showcased at the summit by founder Franky Zapata, the France-based company is about to begin commercial deliveries of its fly-by-wire single-place hybrid-electric aircraft early next year. The aircraft is powered by eight electric motors and four small two-stroke fuel-injected engines burning jet fuel. Each engine and motor will drive a propeller, with the engines also providing electricity to charge batteries for the motors in flight. The aircraft includes a parachute and is capable of carrying about 260 pounds.

Another personal airplane that got a lot of attention, including flying two simultaneously at the private airshow, was BlackFly by Pivotal. The two unusual electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) ultralights took off together and performed side-by-side maneuvers in front of a crowd of 300. The BlackFly is being replaced by Helix, a slightly modified version, which has a starting price of $190,000 to $260,000 with a trailer, emergency locator transmitter, aviation radios, lights, tinted canopy, and multiple chargers. Helix will be available in early 2025.

And for those who really want to hang out in the breeze, there’s the Gravity Jet Suit, which was demonstrated during the airshow by Richard Browning, inventor and founder of Gravity Industries. The jet fuel- or diesel-powered suit allows the wearer to take off in only a couple of steps and to fly as high as 6,500 feet for as far as 3.5 miles and at speeds of about 62 mph. While the company sees many military roles for the suit, individuals can get their shot at it by taking demonstration flights at the company’s London or Bakersfield, California, facilities for about $2,900 or a full-up flight training with multiple flights for about $8,600.

Thomas B. Haines is the former editor in chief of AOPA media.

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