FutureFlight
Industry Leaders Look To Existing Infrastructure and Helicopter Experience As a Foundation For Advanced Air Mobility
While advanced air mobility is expected to bring a 'new way to think of transportation,' the emerging community can use existing infrastructure and lessons from the aviation community to pave the way.
Wisk Cora eVTOL
Wisk Aero, which is developing the two-seat, autonomous Cora eVTOL aircraft, participated in a webinar about advanced air mobility organized by the Helicopter Association International. (Photo: Wisk Aero)

As advanced air mobility nears market (AAM) entry in the next several years, many industry leaders agree that much work lies ahead on building out the infrastructure and tackling key issues such as autonomy, safety, and security. But some of these leaders, speaking during a webinar hosted by Helicopter Association International (HAI) last week, agreed that the existing infrastructure in place can provide a starting point for such operations.

“There is a lot that needs to be done,” said former FAA administrator Michael Huerta, who is now a transportation industry consultant. “We are establishing a whole new way to think of air transportation…We need to focus on adapting our traffic system to ensure that everything can operate safely. Eventually, you have to land. And that raises questions of where you put infrastructure.”