Advanced air mobility infrastructure specialist Skyportz has released details of a patented vertiport design it says mitigates the impact of downwash and outwash from eVTOL aircraft. The Australian company published its plans on March 24 during the Avalon International Airshow near Melbourne.

Aviation regulators, including Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the FAA and EASA, have issued guidelines for vertiport design. In January, the FAA updated its guidelines to take account of comments from the industry about its Engineering Brief No. 105.

The FAA is now indicating that vertipads will need to have a wind safety zone beyond the landing surface in locations where windspeeds could exceed 30 knots. According to Skyportz, this requirement will oblige vertiport developers to build on a larger footprint.

According to a study published by the Swinburne University of Technology, Skyportz’s modular vertipad could dissipate downwash and outwash energy up to 250% faster than would be the case for aircraft landing on flat tarmac. The company intends to use the design for urban installations to support eVTOL air taxi services connecting locations other than airports. It plans to license the use of the concept in markets beyond Australia.

“The Skyportz vertipad patent has some very real applications as cities move to establishing vertiport networks outside of existing airports and helipads,” said Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown. “It means that with out vertipad you can safely use less land or fit more pads onto smaller plots.”

Swinburne University’s Department of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering will now conduct further research to test all aspects of the patented design. Professor Justin Leontini said scientists “will induce a Magnus effect and dissipate energy at higher rates while directing airflows to desired zones away from waiting passengers.”