Dena De Clute
Author
The Garage Looks at Flying Cars
If you like sci-fi, you’ve probably seen movies like BLADE RUNNER (based on the book DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP by Philip K. Dick) and THE FIFTH ELEMENT. And if you’re a living, breathing, human being, you’ve seen BACK TO THE FUTURE and STAR WARS. While they vary greatly in their writing quality – and costume department – what they all have in common is flying cars.
Urban Air Mobility
Today, flying cars are known in the aviation industry and the military as eVTOL aircraft, for electric vertical take-off and landing. In some applications (such as carrying people, as opposed to cargo) they’re called air taxis.
But do we really need flying taxis?
A nine-trillion-dollar industry seems to think so.
Living in the Moment
People are sick of wasting 45 minutes to an hour crawling through a few miles of rush hour traffic. Virtual meetings are becoming the new normal, but we still have a life and places to go. Graduations, concerts, conferences, the theater, sporting events and more.
Uber Elevate recognized this in 2015 and created an air taxi ride-sharing service, which they’ve since sold to Joby Aviation. In fact, a cohort of thirty companies are working to get this industry off the ground (excuse the pun) by the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Can’t Land on Software
While investors in the urban air mobility space are focused on software development, you can’t land on software. Having ridden in various aircraft as a US Marine, SkyStations CEO and Founder, Daniel De Clute-Melancon (who has the distinct pleasure of being my husband) recognizes this critical gap in the infrastructure.
His company, SkyStations, has developed mobile and modular vertistations (a landing pad with an electric charging station) which can be set up in parking lots and on the roofs of gas stations all over major cities.
Cool, huh?! Let’s have a chat with him.
Super Serious Sci-Fi Research
TG: Why don’t we call them flying cars, or electric helicopters? eVTOL sounds like a medication.
Dan: Because helicopters traditionally only have one or two rotors; eVTOL aircraft have between 4-18. eVTOL aircraft also have fixed wings, whereas helicopters have rotary wings.
TG: What’s the most awful traffic jam you’ve ever been in?
Dan: In Paris, when all the Metro (subway) workers were on strike forcing everyone to use surface transportation. All the taxis and cars were so overwhelmed, people were walking. The city basically came to a standstill. We were trying to get to the airport, and a thirty-minute ride took us an hour and a half.
TG: How did you find out about Uber Elevate?
Dan: Doom scrolling. (Laughs)
I was following the drone industry, and one of the websites I follow regarding drone updates had an article on a white paper written by the Uber Elevate team. It fascinated me. It was a hundred pages filled with technical information to support the fact that it’s a viable business. That was the end of 2015.
All the taxis and cars were so overwhelmed, people were walking. The city [Paris] basically came to a standstill.
TG: What books are you reading right now?
Dan: Several, though there’s one I’d recommend for entrepreneurs who are just starting out: THE INNOVATOR’S DILEMMA by Clayton M. Christensen.
TG: If you could take your wife on a date using an air taxi, where would you take her?
Dan: I would take her back to Rio de Janeiro, and have an air taxi pick us up from the airport – skipping over all the horrible city traffic – and drop us off at the top of Sugarloaf Mountain so we could have a candlelit dinner up there. I’d ask the pilot to fly us by Christ the Redeemer on the way.
TG: Good answer! Have you ever been accused of wearing an ascot?
Dan: Yes. I’ve worn one several times and looked awesome. One of my executive MBA classmates called me Dapper Dan.
Winning at Revolution Aero
TG: I hear you recently won an award for your business model in a pitch competition. Care to share?
Dan: I applied to Revolution Aero Global 2021, which had over 1000 participants, and SkyStations was selected as one of the six finalists. I pitched and won the audience vote, which was comprised of investors and industry insiders in the advanced air mobility space. (Adjusting his imaginary ascot.)
TG: Congratulations!
Not bad for a mechanical engineer whose love of vehicles goes back to the RC cars he purchased by delivering newspapers on his bike.
And he has excellent taste in women.
(Shameless plug: For more on flying, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Marines, and the women who interest them, check out THE WRATH OF NIKE in the Infinite Crossroads series.)