Chair’s Opening Remarks

Volocopter’s Roadmap to Certification: From Flight Trials to Type Certificate

David Bausek, CTO, Volocopter

• Sequencing DOA/POA, conformity, and compliance artifacts on a clear path to Type Certificate

• Applying SC-VTOL and evolving MOCs across handling qualities, lightning/HIRF, crashworthiness, and propulsion batteries

• Converting flight-test and city-trial results into cert-grade evidence and risk retirement

• Building the propulsion/energy safety case: TR detection & containment, HV protection, EMC/EMI robustness

• Production readiness as a cert lever: supplier qualification, serial build, and inspection regimes

• Operational integration workstreams: U-space/UTM procedures, vertiport interfaces, and maintainability by design

From Certification to Commercialization: Global Lessons from China’s First Type-Certified eVTOL

Zhang Hong, Vice President, EHang

The certification of EHang’s EH216-S in China marked a historic milestone for the eVTOL industry, transitioning from prototype development to authorized commercial operations. This achievement provides critical insights for stakeholders across the globe as they navigate the complex path from type certification to large-scale commercialization.

This session will examine the technical, regulatory, and operational lessons from China’s breakthrough and explore how these can inform U.S. and European certification strategies.

• Certification Milestone: How EHang achieved type certification and airworthiness approval under CAAC standards.

• Regulatory Divergence: Key differences between CAAC, FAA, and EASA certification pathways and implications for international harmonization.

• Commercial Deployment: Operational readiness, safety cases, and infrastructure integration enabling China’s first approved eVTOL flights.

• Scaling Challenges: What the U.S. and Europe can learn about accelerating safe certification, while balancing innovation, public acceptance, and airspace integration.

Global Roadmap: How early certification precedents can shape a more coordinated and efficient regulatory framework for advanced air mobility.

Cold Front Ops: BETA’s European Winter Demonstrations

Patrick Buckles, Head of Sales, BETA Technologies

BETA’s European and Nordic campaign showcases what early regional services could look like across complex weather, cross-border airspace, and renewable-heavy grids. This session translates demonstration results into actionable guidance for route design, winterization, charging logistics, and regulatory validation—highlighting what it really takes to stand up repeatable, reliable missions in Northern Europe.

• Design cross-border demo routes that align with EASA validation, local ANSP procedures, and airport/vertiport constraints.

• Operationalize cold-weather and icing strategies (pre-conditioned batteries, de/anti-icing, dispatch thresholds) without compromising turnaround times.

• Quantify energy planning under short daylight, low temperatures, and coastal winds, and set SOC windows that preserve battery life across multi-leg days.

• Integrate megawatt-class charging with Nordic renewables and grid limitations; plan redundancy, charge-rate profiles, and safety interlocks for mixed fleets.

• Capture cert-grade evidence from demo missions (procedures, noise, EMC, handling qualities) and feed it into SC-VTOL/Part-23/POA workstreams.

• Coordinate U-space/UTM trials with local authorities for corridor activation, contingency handling, and data sharing.

• Build a winter-ready MRO & spares concept (line checks, LRU swaps, on-site diagnostics) sized for early Nordic bases.

VERTIFIED: DLR’s Full-Scale Vertiport Real-Lab — From Concepts to Cert-Grade Evidence

Following HorizonUAM, DLR has launched VERTIFIED—a four-year programme to design, build, and validate vertiports as full-scale, modular technology demonstrators at the National Test Center (Magdeburg-Cochstedt). With two reconfigurable sites representing urban and airport use cases, VERTIFIED functions as a real laboratory to trial U-space services, operations concepts, safety procedures, and ground systems under realistic conditions—open to DLR teams and external partners. The goal: produce practical methods, metrics, and data packages that de-risk commercial IAM deployment in Europe.

• Define engineering requirements and layout archetypes for urban vs. airport vertiports, including pads, stands, taxi/ground flows, and passenger interfaces.

• Demonstrate full-scale, modular vertiport prototypes at Magdeburg-Cochstedt; reconfigure to test throughput, turnaround, and emergency scenarios.

• Integrate U-space/UTM services and a vertidrome management layer for scheduling, separation, contingency handling, and data exchange.

• Validate safety cases and ops procedures (FOD, fire safety, HV charging interlocks, de/anti-icing readiness, rescue & evacuation) under realistic constraints.

• Quantify performance with operational KPIs (capacity/LoS, taxi/charge times, grid demand, noise footprints, availability) and establish acceptance criteria.

• Develop certification-support methods & evidence: trace requirements → trials → auditable documentation for authorities and operators.

• Coordinate a structured stakeholder exchange (industry, cities, airports, utilities) to align standards, interfaces, and investment timing.

Mission-Driven Thermal Modelling for eVTOL

Christina Matheis, Fraunhofer Institut IBP

This talk lays out a practical, cert-ready framework that stitches together 1D system models and 3D CFD where it counts, links heat sources to mission phases, and closes the loop with rig and chamber data. Expect concrete methods for modelling propulsion/battery heat loads, ECS and de-/anti-icing, cabin comfort, and environmental extremes—plus a roadmap for correlation, uncertainty management, and reduced-order models that run fast enough for design trade studies and HIL.

• Map the full thermal stack—cells→pack, power electronics, motors/gearboxes, ECS, cabin, structure—to mission phases (VTOL, transition, cruise, loiter, turnaround).

• Hybrid modelling: fast 1D networks (FMI/FMUs) + targeted 3D CFD for hotspots (end-windings, inverter chokes, pack manifolds, rotor inflow).

• Data-driven parameters from calorimetry, IR, environmental/chamber tests, and shaker/EMC coupling; fit unknowns via system identification.

• Battery thermal: heat gen, TR detect/contain, plate vs immersion cooling, pack pressure/vent modelling.

• ECS engineering (VCC/heat pump, loops, cabin loads) for fast turnarounds and cold-soak/hot-day extremes, incl. de/anti-icing.

• Reduced-order models for controls/dispatch & HIL (BMS, inverter, FCC) with traceability to high-fidelity refs.

• Credibility & uncertainty: correlation plans, sensitivity/DoE, and cert-grade model documentation.

• Operationalize: thermal margins, SOPs for charge windows & pre-conditioning, and energy–time planning at vertiports.

Fastening the Challenges of Lightweight Electrification: Aluminum & Copper Solutions for eVTOL

Franzisca Götz, ARNOLD Umformtechnik (Würth Group)

Lightweight airframes and high-current power systems place new demands on fasteners and electrical joints. This session distills 125+ years of fastening know-how—now focused on eVTOL—into practical guidance for multi-material architectures, from aluminum/composite structures to copper busbars and HV terminations. Expect concrete methods to cut mass, improve conductivity, and raise reliability, while preparing fastening processes for aerospace-grade quality and rate production in Europe.

• Engineer reliable Al–Cu–CFRP joints that control expansion, corrosion, and creep.

• Choose optimal fasteners (cold-formed, flow-drill, clinch, riv-bolt, thread-forming, inserts) to cut weight and assembly time.

• Design HV electrical contacts (busbars, tabs) for low resistance, stable clamping, EMC/EMI and vibration robustness.

• Validate durability via staged tests: coupons → sub-assemblies → full article (fatigue, NVH, salt/thermal cycling).

• Mitigate galvanic risk in Al–Cu stacks with coatings, isolators, and smart stack-ups.

• Industrialize at rate: automation, in-line torque/angle control, and full traceability.

• Meet 9100-class quality: APQP/PPAP, special-process control, supplier readiness.

Engineering Espresso Break

The Wake We Can’t Ignore: Downwash Hazards That Could Block Urban Vertiports

Clem Newton-Brown, CEO, Skyportz

Distributed-electric rotors don’t erase physics. High disk loading, closely spaced rotors, and urban “street-canyon” aerodynamics can create hazardous downwash/outwash—risking pedestrian safety, debris/FOD, door-slamming gusts, glazing loads, and recirculating exhaust/particulates. This session translates rotor/jet-blast science into urban design and ops rules, showing when downwash becomes the rate-limiter—and how to mitigate it with aircraft, vertiport, and procedure co-design.

• Why it matters: High disk loading + urban canyons ⇒ hazardous downwash/outwash (pedestrians, FOD, glazing, recirculation).

• Quantify the hazard: envelopes, peak velocities @ 2 m AGL, turbulence/impulse loads.

• Model correctly: LES/URANS + boundary-layer wind tunnels; scale laws tied to full-scale pad tests.

• Aircraft levers: disk loading, rotor dia/tip-speed, shrouds/ducts, nacelle spacing, thrust split to cut ground velocities.

• Pad & site design: elevation/rooftop setbacks, porous screens vs blast walls, pad porosity, FOD-resistant surfacing, drainage/edges.

• Ops playbook: stabilized approaches, minimize hover, thrust-limit profiles, metered departures, crosswind limits, auto abort/idle triggers.

• People & assets: setbacks, barriers, loose-object control, rooftop furniture codes, MRO debris protocols.

• Verify & certify: anemometry arrays, façade load cells, debris tracers; template Downwash Safety Case.

• Toward standards: align OEM data, vertiport guides, and building codes into one auditable requirement set.

A Hybrid-Electric Playbook for Long-Range VTOL

TBA, Meridian Flight Systems

Meridian is advancing two tightly coupled programmes: Corra, a large hybrid-electric tiltrotor UAV targeting >2,500 km range with 350 kg payload in controlled airspace and all-weather ops; and HERMES, a scalable, fuel-flexible hybrid powertrain (initially ~100 kW, scalable >300 kW) engineered for ≈15% better SFC and ≈20% emissions reduction versus legacy systems. This session details the parallel development paths, technical synergies, and certification strategy (EASA CS-23/CS-E runway), including the Corra-60 (60% scale) demonstrator and a sovereign UK–EU supply chain approach.

• Architect the Corra tiltrotor: disk loading, prop-rotor sizing, transition control, and all-weather flight in controlled airspace.

• Integrate HERMES hybrid-electric: turbine-generator, DC/DC, battery buffers, and power-split logic sized from 100–300+ kW.

• Quantify performance: mission energy models that close on >2,500 km / 350 kg with VTOL reserves and thermal margins.

• Design for fuel flexibility: Jet A-1, SAF, eFuels, and a pathway to LH₂ without re-architecting the electric side.

• Engineer certification pathways: mapping evidence to CS-23 (aircraft) and CS-E (engines) plus EMC, HIRF, lightning, and propulsion battery safety.

• De-risk via Corra-60: what the 60% demonstrator proves (aero/controls, hybrid transients, acoustic/downwash) and how data scales.

• Industrialise responsibly: sustainable manufacturing, sovereign suppliers, and design-for-assembly for dual-use civil/defence variants.

Liquid Miles: Designing H₂-Powered Logistics UAVs

Emilia Torres, Head of Product Management, NEX Aero GmbH

Hydrogen propulsion promises higher specific energy than batteries for heavy-lift, long-range UAV logistics. This session translates concept hype into engineering reality—covering fuel-cell vs H₂-ICE trade-offs, storage architectures (350/700 bar, LH₂), thermal/water management, hybridization with batteries, and the certification and safety cases needed to move cargo at scale.

• Select the right architecture: PEM fuel cell vs H₂-ICE, series/parallel hybrid, and battery buffer sizing for transients and fail-safe loiter.

• Design storage & BoP: 350/700 bar tanks vs LH₂, placement, CG effects, crashworthiness, venting, and purge/water management.

• Close the mission model: payload–range trades, reserve policies, cold-weather derates, and thermal margins for climb/hover/cruise/turnaround.

• Engineer the HV stack: DC/DC, propulsion inverters, EMI/EMC, and fault-tolerant power to maintain controllability after single-point failures.

• Validate safety: leak detection, inerting, ignition source control, refueling interlocks, and ground/flight test evidence for regulators.

• Plan infrastructure & ops: mobile refuelers, depot electrolyzers, turnaround SOPs, and maintenance regimes for membrane health & filters.

• Path to approval & scale: map artifacts to CS-LURS/SC-UAS, materials compatibility, and supplier readiness for serial production.

Flightpath 2030 in Practice: Vertical’s VX4—From Transition Flight to Scaled Manufacturing

TBA, Vertical Aerospace (VX4 Program & Manufacturing Leadership)

Vertical Aerospace has locked in its initial UK manufacturing footprint and laid out a data-driven path to VX4 certification and early production: aircraft assembly capacity (25+ units/year) co-located at Cotswold Airport, a new 30,000 sq ft Avonmouth battery facility that triples output, transition flight completion targeted for 2025 year-end, hybrid-electric flight testing in 2026, and a reiterated 2028 certification plan with a quantified spend to TC—positioning the program for a 225+ units/year run-rate by Q4 2030.

• Trace the certification plan to 2028 (CAA/EASA approach, front-loaded evidence) and understand how transition-flight data rolls into conformity artifacts. 

• See how co-located assembly + battery production reduces integration risk and enables a clean ramp from prototypes to initial deliveries. 

• Unpack the hybrid-electric variant roadmap (flight testing from 2026) and its implications for mission range, safety cases, and supply chain. 

• Benchmark industrialization metrics: 25+/yr initial capacity, 225+/yr run-rate by Q4-2030, and battery unit scaling—then translate them into QA, traceability, and rate-readiness requirements.

• Derive a financial-to-engineering bridge: the $700M spend-to-certification and how cost visibility, supplier alignment, and facility siting de-risk the timeline.

Megawatts, Hybrids & Turnarounds: What Heart’s ES-30 Teaches eVTOL

TBA, Heart Aerospace (ES-30 Program & Infrastructure Integration)

Heart’s ES-30 is a 30-seat hybrid-electric regional aircraft targeting ~30-minute charges, 200 km zero-emission electric range (hybrid up to 400–800 km depending on payload), and a 2029 type-cert target. Their full-scale X1 demonstrator and airport ground-ops trials provide hard data on megawatt-class charging, turnaround choreography, and hybrid power management—insights eVTOL operators and vertiports can apply immediately.

• Turnarounds that work: Translate Heart’s ~1 MW/aircraft charging recommendation and 30-minute target into eVTOL pad power planning, queueing, and safety interlocks. 

• Hybrid lessons for mission reliability: How ES-30’s Independent Hybrid approach (turbogenerators + batteries) informs reserve policies, dispatch rules, and winter ops for urban/regional eVTOL. 

• Ground-ops playbook: Charging procedure validation, passenger flows, and turnaround SOPs from X1 trials that carry over to multi-pad vertiports. 

• Certification breadcrumbs: Mapping ES-30’s path to late-decade EASA TC—and what eVTOL teams can reuse for evidence, EMC/lightning, and infrastructure documentation. 

• Ecosystem & standards: Why Heart joined CharIN and how MCS/megawatt standards can unify airport and vertiport charging (cost, reliability, vendor lock-in).

From Ground Operations to Certification: Lessons in Delivering Safe and Scalable BVLOS eVTOL Cargo Missions

Chen Rosen, CTO, AIR

As the eVTOL ecosystem matures, the operational and certification frameworks for cargo missions are advancing rapidly. Beyond the technical milestones of aircraft design, the successful delivery of eVTOL cargo services requires seamless integration of ground crews, robust BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) operational protocols, and innovative approaches to aircraft certification.

Drawing on real-world case studies, this session will explore how operators are integrating human factors on the ground, what lessons have been learned in early cargo delivery programs, and how the pathway of certifying eVTOLs as Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) offers new opportunities for market entry.

• Ground Crew Integration: Training, procedures, and communication protocols to ensure safe BVLOS cargo operations.

• Operational Lessons Learned: Practical insights from delivering eVTOL aircraft and conducting real-world cargo missions.

• Certification Strategies: The potential of Light Sport Aircraft classification as a stepping stone for eVTOL certification and commercialization.

• Safety and Scalability: How BVLOS operations, ground infrastructure, and certification frameworks combine to support safe scaling of eVTOL cargo missions.

• Industry Roadmap: Aligning operational experience with regulatory progress to accelerate cargo eVTOL deployment.

Engines Off, Conversations On (Lunch)

Getting Ready for Take-Off: The European AAM Framework

TBA, The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)

Europe’s AAM rulebook is taking shape—and with it, clear pathways (and pitfalls) for eVTOL certification and operations. This session translates today’s regulatory landscape—EASA’s SC-VTOL, Delegated Reg. EU 945/2019, Implementing Reg. EU 947/2019, the Open/Specific/Certified categories, and Basic vs Enhanced safety objectives—into practical actions for OEMs, operators, airports and cities. We’ll also unpack the FAA–EASA alignment steps announced in 2024 and what they mean for cross-border services, while grounding the discussion in real European readiness signals (Paris trials, UK flight tests, Italy/Denmark/Spain infrastructure planning).

• Navigate the Certified operations pathway: type certificate, certificate of airworthiness, operator approval, and pilot licensing.

• Apply SC-VTOL (Basic vs Enhanced) safety objectives to design/assurance plans and evidence.

• Map EU 945/2019 & 947/2019 to your program: what sits in Open/Specific vs Certified, and how to progress.

• Anticipate the regulatory amendments still needed for UAS/eVTOL—and plan your compliance timeline accordingly.

• Leverage FAA–EASA convergence: where alignment helps (weights, features) and how to handle remaining differences (e.g., safety objectives).

• Build a city-ready ops concept: vertiport approvals, U-space/UTM integration, community acceptance, and airport interfaces.

• Turn market interest into numbers: ridership, pricing, and revenue forecasting inputs for 2026–2030 route planning

Midnight in Europe: Archer’s Playbook for Market Entry, Vertiport Integration & Validation

TBA, Archer Aviation (Europe Market & Certification Strategy)

In Europe, Archer is in the market-development and infrastructure-setup phase—showcasing the aircraft, lining up terminal partners, and participating in cross-border certification alignment—rather than announcing a specific EASA certification program or first launch city yet.

• Define the validation pathway: sequencing FAA data packages for EASA and prioritising gaps (continued airworthiness, ops, environment).

• Leverage FBO/terminal networks (e.g., Jetex) into vertiport-ready nodes: ground flows, charge power, safety interlocks, and passenger handling.

• Set launch-corridor criteria: city-airport pairs, weather minima, grid availability, and noise envelopes that win local approvals.

• Build the turnaround & charging playbook for Midnight: SOC windows, pad power, and procedures that hit on-time performance.

• Translate community acceptance into design/ops: acoustic profiles, approach paths, and data sharing with municipalities.

• Plan the commercial ramp: airline/airport partnerships, MRO/readiness in-region, and staffing/training pipelines for day-one reliability.

Munich Airport’s AAM Readiness

Oliver Schultes, Project Manager Corporate Development, Munich Airport International GmbH

Adrian  Voß, Airport Consulting, Munich Airport International GmbH

Dipl.-Ing. M.Sc. REM Olaf Bünck, Strategic Airport Development, Munich Airport International GmbH

Munich Airport and its global consulting arm, MAI, are translating AAM theory into buildable, operable vertiports—at airports and in cities. This session unpacks their current work: leading vertiport streams within Germany’s AMI, slot-neutral airport concepts, modular rooftop/parking-deck designs, digital-twin evaluation, and grid/charging planning tools that size megawatt-class demand from real traffic profiles. Expect practical methods you can lift straight into your 2026–2030 plans.

• Reference designs: slot-neutral airport layouts + urban rooftop/parking-deck modules (flows, safety/FOD, egress).

• Traffic → power: forecast pads, charge rates, redundancy, load-shedding with MAI’s sizing method.

• Safe ops at scale: SOPs for corridors, minimal hover, downwash control, and tight turnarounds (SOC windows, interlocks, handling).

• U-space/ATM: vertidrome scheduling, sequencing, contingencies aligned with airport ops.

• Digital twin: simulate throughput, queues, noise, grid peaks, emergencies before build.

• Compliance: tie design/ops evidence to vertiport guidance, building codes, environmental rules.

• Deliverability: phased capex, multi-stakeholder governance, and procurement playbooks to hold timelines.

Enabling Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Aviation—from eVTOL to Commuter & Regional

TBC: Dr. Andreas Bodén, SVP & CTO, PowerCell Group

We’ll cover stack and balance-of-plant design, hybridization with batteries for transients and redundancy, thermal/water management at altitude, storage choices (350/700 bar today, LH₂ tomorrow), durability & cost roadmaps, and the evidence regulators will expect

• Select architectures across aircraft classes: series-hybrid for eVTOL, parallel/series for commuter/regional; right-size battery buffers for takeoff, go-around, and OEI.

• Design the stack & BoP: membrane/electrode choices, compression/humidification strategies, anode/cathode recirculation, contamination tolerance, start-stop/idle policies.

• Manage heat & water at altitude: radiator sizing, purge strategies, freeze start, and integrated ECS/pack cooling to meet turn-around targets.

• Engineer storage: 350/700-bar tank integration (CG, crashworthiness, venting) and the pathway to LH₂ (insulation, boil-off, refuel ergonomics).

• Meet safety & compliance: leak detection, inerting, ignition source control, refueling interlocks; map evidence to DO-160 (EMI/HIRF), lightning, and propulsion safety cases.

• Prove durability: stack degradation mechanisms, platinum loading, contamination controls, and test profiles that predict life under real mission cycles.

• Close the business case: energy cost, stack $/kW trajectory, maintenance intervals, and infrastructure options (mobile trailers, depot electrolyzers, airport/vertiport supply).

• Plan the ramp: supplier qualification, traceability, and MRO concepts for first operating bases—what scales cleanly from eVTOL to regional.

Engineering a Medevac eVTOL for European HEMS: From Requirements to Evidence

David Loebl, CEO, ERC

A  technical deep-dive—not a product tour—on how to engineer a medevac eVTOL that actually meets European HEMS requirements at scale. We’ll translate mission and regulatory demands into verifiable system requirements, define credible safety and availability targets, and show the V&V, industrialization, and operations evidence needed for certification and entry-into-service.

• Translate the mission: Turn HEMS essentials (stretcher geometry, 2-medic ergonomics, rooftop constraints, NVIS/night IFR) into clear KPIs (e.g., ≤3-min patient transfer, ≤10-min turnaround).

• Design for safety: Allocate SC-VTOL Enhanced targets to propulsion, power, and flight controls with a FHA → PSSA → SSA/CCA path that supports continued safe flight/landing.

• Prove device compatibility: Specify EMC/EMI environments so avionics and IEC 60601 medical equipment can coexist; tailor a minimal DO-160 test set.

• Size energy & thermal correctly: Right-size battery/hybrid buffers for diversion + loiter; define charge windows, interlocks, and pad power to protect availability and TR margins.

• Control pad effects: Set acceptance limits for noise and downwash (2 m AGL) and choose rotor/trajectory + pad-edge mitigations that meet hospital thresholds.

• Ensure maintainability & hygiene: Mandate LRU access, tool-less swaps, disinfectant-safe materials, and timed tasks that preserve fleet readiness.

• Be IFR-ready: Outline PBN rooftop procedures, contingency/abort logic, NVIS, and secure links for telemedicine with explicit latency budgets.

• Plan industrialization & evidence: Lock special-process controls, traceability, APQP/PPAP, and a rig → HIL → ground → flight V&V sequence with audit-ready artifacts.

Cruise on SAF, Lift on Electrons: The Zuri Hybrid Architecture

Michal Illich, CEO, Zuri

Zuri is pursuing a hybrid-electric VTOL optimized for regional missions—not urban hops—with a 700+ km target range, a SAF-compatible cruise engine, and a large-scale Technology Demonstrator 2.0 (TD 2.0) under development in Prague. This session translates Zuri’s approach—tiltrotor aerodynamics, hybrid propulsion integration, and manufacturability-first design—into actionable lessons for programs bridging eVTOL and short-haul RAM. 

• Scope the mission right: Define RAM routes and ground infrastructure that exploit 700+ km hybrid range versus pure-battery eVTOL limits.

• Architect the hybrid: Partition electric VTOL lift from SAF-compatible cruise power; set power-split and thermal constraints for TD 2.0. 

• Manage transitions: Address tiltrotor stability through transition with redundancy and control strategies sized for regional weather profiles. 

• Design for scale: Apply “manufacturability-first” choices from TD 2.0 to reduce rework between demo and serial article.

• Organize for speed: Use co-located teams and rapid test loops to compress design-build-test cycles.

Afternoon Refuel & Connect

Composites That Certify & Scale

TBA (Structures & Materials Lead)

eVTOL airframes push composite tech into high-rate, safety-critical territory: thin skins, complex joints, tight mass budgets, lightning protection, and repairability—under airline-like utilization. This session turns that reality into a practical blueprint from allowables to automation.

• Pick the stack: Thermoset OOA/RTM vs thermoplastics (welded ribs/skins)—trade weight, cycle time, rework, and FST compliance.

• Design for damage & crash: Impact/DT requirements, bird-strike and crash energy paths; toughening strategies and repair schemes that pass conformity.

• Join & protect: Co-cure vs secondary bonding, hybrid bolt/bond joints, metallic inserts; LSP (mesh/foil, zoning), grounding, and bondline resistance targets.

• Automate the rate: AFP/ATL for skins/spars, press-formed TP substructures, RTM cell design, in-mold sensing, and closed-loop process control.

• Battery/thermal interfaces: Composite enclosures & firewalling, venting paths, EMI shielding, and heat-rejection features compatible with certification.

• Evidence to certify: From coupons → elements → sub-components → articles; acceptance criteria, repair substantiation, and production conformity records.

Bond, Cure, Verify: Adhesives & LSP Integration at Production Rate

TBA (Structures & Manufacturing Engineering Lead)

Adhesive bonding is the enabling joint for lightweight eVTOL primary structures—until it isn’t. At rate, tiny lapses in surface prep, cure control, or LSP (lightning strike protection) lay-up can create undetectable “kissing bonds,” galvanic paths, and rework spirals. This session turns composites joining into a controllable, auditable production system—coordinating adhesives, bonding processes, and lightning strike protection (mesh/foil/veils) with in-line verification that scales.

• Choose the joint: Co-cure, secondary bond, or hybrid bolt/bond—pick per part (skins, ribs, frames, doors, battery boxes).

• Build the stack: Select adhesive (film/paste), control thickness/fillet, integrate LSP (mesh/foil/veil), manage ply drops/paint to avoid print-through.

• Prep surfaces right: Abrade/peel-ply/chem routes, verify cleanliness (Dyne/FTIR/tape), control out-time/humidity; run witness coupons.

• Control the cure: Autoclave/OOA profiles, in-situ monitoring (dielectric/FBG), prove mix ratios, SPC on temp/pressure; full MES genealogy.

• Design electrical performance: Set bondline resistance/ground paths, zone LSP, isolate CF–Al to prevent galvanic corrosion.

• Verify the invisible: NDT on thin sections (UT/TTU, thermography, shearography, D-sight), targeted destructs, scarf substantiation, clear repair criteria.

• Integrate lightning/EMC: Place co-cured/co-bonded mesh/foil, fastener earthing, edge terminations, continuity checks that support EMI shielding.

• Plan for MRO: Standard scarf/patch details, allowable knock-downs, on-wing access, cleaning chemistries that preserve bonds.

• Flow at rate: Cell layout, robot bead-dispense validation, takt planning, first-pass-yield dashboards, and firm go/no-go checks.

Battery Passports for eVTOL: Compliance, Traceability & Ops Value

TBA (Battery Systems & Compliance Lead)

From February 2027, the EU Battery Regulation’s digital battery passport becomes mandatory for large rechargeable packs—squarely touching eVTOL propulsion batteries. This session cuts through policy to a build-and-operate playbook: scoping applicability, defining the data model, wiring it into your MBSE/PLM and MRO systems, and turning compliance into airworthiness traceability, safety, and ESG value.

• Know your scope: Classify eVTOL packs, understand passport go-live dates and enforcement across supply chain roles (cell → pack → aircraft OEM → operator).

• Design the data model: What your passport must contain (ID, performance/durability, carbon footprint, recycled content, due-diligence, safety/usage) and how to version it across module/pack swaps.

• Integrate with certification: Map passport fields to EASA evidence (DO-160/ED docs, conformity, continued airworthiness) so compliance piggybacks on data you already generate.

• Build the digital thread: Embed passport capture in MBSE/PLM/MES—from incoming inspection and end-of-line test to QR provisioning, software/BMS config, and release to service.

• Make it operational: Link passport to MRO records, charge/health history, and second-life/EoL decisions; define who updates what (supplier/OEM/operator) and when.

• Set KPIs & contracts: Write supplier clauses and KPIs (data completeness, latency, accuracy), acceptance tests, and audit readiness for regulators, airports, and financiers.

• Secure & govern: Protect sensitive data (cybersecurity, access control), align with GBA schema, and avoid vendor lock-in via interoperable APIs.

HIL/SIL & Evidence Automation: Shrinking Risk, Cost, and Time-to-Cert for eVTOL

TBA (Chief Verification & Validation Engineer, eVTOL OEM/Tier-1)

Why this matters now: eVTOL programs are hitting the wall on test capacity, certification evidence, and change velocity. Software- and hardware-in-the-loop (SIL/HIL) let teams prove BMS, flight controls (FCC), and electric drives before flight, while evidence automation turns those runs into audit-ready artifacts. The payoff is immediate: faster design cycles, fewer flight-test failures, cleaner conformity packages, and a scalable path from prototypes to rate production.

• Design the rigs that matter: Architect SIL/HIL benches for BMS, FCC, and drives with real-time plant models, fault injection points, and power stages sized for VTOL/transitions.

• Run meaningful tests, fast: Use structured fault injection (shorts, opens, sensor drift, timing faults) with coverage metrics tied to FHA→PSSA→SSA/CCA needs.

• Trace requirements end-to-end: Link requirements → test cases → logs → pass/fail with unique IDs so every change auto-updates the evidence chain.

• Automate the paperwork: Auto-generate conformity artifacts

• Control configuration & change: Freeze hardware, software, model, and dataset versions per run; reproduce results on demand for auditors and incident reviews.

• De-risk flight & compress schedules: Pull hazardous and rare scenarios (OEI, brownouts, EMI spikes, TR events) into bench-replayable tests to prevent flight-test churn.

• Scale to production & MRO: Reuse rigs for end-of-line tests, regression after ECOs, and in-service incident replays to support continued airworthiness.

Continued Airworthiness & MRO for High-Utilization eVTOL Fleets

TBA (Head of Continuing Airworthiness / MRO Engineering)

eVTOL economics only work if aircraft fly often and come back quickly. This session bridges manufacturing and operations with a cert-grade continued airworthiness plan: MSG-3 task development, digital records, condition-based maintenance, and design-for-maintainability that holds at fleet scale.

• Build the maintenance program (MSG-3): Derive tasks from FHA→PSSA→SSA/CCA and reliability data; set intervals, thresholds, and escalation rules that protect dispatch.

• Design for maintainability: LRU access, standard tools/quick-disconnects, modular interiors, and on-wing test points; define time-on-task KPIs (e.g., 15-min LRU swap).

• Go digital by default: Tie config control + digital twins + eLogbooks to each tail number; ensure traceable parts genealogy, software/BMS baselines, and auto-flagged AD/SB compliance.

• Condition-based maintenance (CBM): Use SHM, vibration, and battery health data to move from fixed intervals to evidence-based tasks; define alert levels and approval basis.

• Battery continued airworthiness: In-service SoH/SoC tracking, charge/thermal histories, swap/repair criteria, and safe-state procedures after events.

• Vertiport turnaround SOPs: Pad inspections, FOD control, charging interlocks, and quick defects management (MEL/CDL-style) that keep the pad flowing.

• MRO readiness at scale: Spares planning, rotable pools, line/base maintenance split, and AOG recovery playbooks; qualify suppliers and special processes.

• Evidence for regulators & lessors: Reliability reporting, ETOPS-like metrics for urban ops, and audit-ready continued airworthiness management artifacts.

Quiet by Design: Propulsors, Aeroacoustics & EU Noise Certification

TBA (Aeroacoustics & Propulsor Engineering Lead)

eVTOLs will live or die by acoustics. Beyond downwash, the gating items are psychoacoustics, tonal mitigation, and a credible path through European noise certification while holding performance and manufacturability. This session turns rotor/prop design knobs, operations, and test methods into a cert-ready playbook for urban routes.

• Design the sound, not just the thrust: Translate psychoacoustic metrics (loudness, tonality, roughness, fluctuation strength, sharpness) into rotor/prop requirements and acceptance limits.

• Kill tones at the source: Use blade-count & BPF spacing, unequal azimuth spacing, tip-speed caps, planform/twist tailoring, TE serrations/porous edges, and clocking across arrays to suppress discrete tones.

• Array coherence control: Break up multi-rotor phasing to reduce constructive interference at ground observers.

• CFD→CAA that correlates: Build a CFD/FW-H (or equivalent) chain with mission-representative inflow, installation effects, and model–test correlation using tunnel and pad-array data.

• Urban trajectory design: Shape approach/transition (speed, flight-path angle, lateral offset, bank) to minimize ground footprints while preserving energy and safety margins.

• Certification pathway (EU focus): Define the noise test configuration, instrumentation, metrics and documentation packages aligned to emerging EASA eVTOL guidance and airport/city requirements.

• Manufacturing & tolerance control: Specify surface finish, tip clearances, balance, and stacking tolerances that keep acoustic drift in check at production rate.

• Ops & maintenance levers: RPM caps by segment, quiet-hour procedures, pad siting/screens, and in-service acoustic monitoring to protect community KPIs over time.

Tech-Led, On-Demand Scheduling for eVTOL Networks

TBA (Ops Research / Dispatch & U-space Integration Lead)

On-demand only works if the tech does: real-time demand sensing, aircraft/crew availability, vertiport pad and charging-slot constraints, and U-space procedures—all optimized minute-by-minute. This session turns algorithms into operations for European city-pairs and airport shuttles.

• Demand → supply: Predict requests; batch vs real-time assignment.

• Feasible plans: Respect pads, slots, SoC, MEL, crew limits.

• Routing & pooling: Dynamic VRP with time windows; multi-leg pooling.

• Charging orchestration: Slot booking, SoC windows, queue spillover.

• U-space integration: Flight approval, sequencing, contingencies.

• Disruption playbook: Re-optimize for weather, AOG, ATC holds.

• Safety & compliance: Traceable logic; audit logs for regulators.

• Revenue logic: Fares, SLAs, and fairness under surge.

• Data layer: Digital twin of fleet/vertiports; clean telemetry in/out.

• Cyber & privacy: Secure APIs, role-based access, PII minimization.

Weather That Decides the Mission: Micro-Weather, Vertiport Sensing & Dispatch Logic

TBA (Aviation Meteorology & AAM Ops Integration Lead)

Ultra-local weather—not regional TAFs—will make or break eVTOL reliability. This session turns micro-weather data and vertiport sensing into real dispatch decisions, charging plans, and U-space workflows.

• See the right sky: Low-altitude wind, shear, gust, ceiling, visibility, icing—what eVTOL actually needs.

• Sense the pad: Equip vertiports (met mast, LiDAR/SODAR, ceilometer, cameras) with sitings that avoid building wake.

• Fuse & nowcast: Blend sensors + mesoscale models into block-by-block nowcasts (≤5–10 min horizon).

• Set thresholds: Define go/no-go and caution bands for approach, hover, and downwash limits at 2 m AGL.

• Dispatch logic: Tie weather to routing, altitudes, ETAs, and charging SoC windows (cold-soak/hot-day).

• U-space integration: Auto-push constraints to flight approvals, sequencing, contingencies.

• De-risk icing: Forecast layers; pre-heat/pre-condition SOPs and alternate profiles.

• Resilience playbook: Re-optimize for pop-up gusts/AOG; pad closures and spillover pads.

• Monitor & learn: In-service truth data → model tuning; KPIs (on-time %, weather cancellations, pad downtime).

• Procure smart: SLAs for data latency/uptime, cyber-secure APIs, and failover to national sources.

Crashworthiness & Occupant Protection: Designing to Survive and Exit

TBA (Structures & Safety Engineering Lead)

eVTOL cabins must protect occupants in vertical/oblique impacts, with tight mass budgets and high-rate manufacturability. This session turns crash safety into an executable plan—covering seats/restraints, load paths, FST, and egress—with test evidence and factory-feasible solutions.

• Define load cases: Vertical/longitudinal/oblique pulses for VTOL/transition; select energy paths from gear → keel beams → frames → seat rails.

• Seat & restraint design: 16/19-g–equivalent philosophies, belt geometry, pretensioners/airbags options, and HIC/neck criteria for diverse anthropometry.

• Crashworthy structures: Local crush features, sacrificial members, progressive collapse tuning, and composite toughening without weight blow-ups.

• FST & post-crash fire: Material selection and barrier strategies; smoke/toxicity limits, battery/firewalling, venting and burn-through resistance.

• Egress by design: Door/hinge/slide mechanics, jam-tolerant latches, lighting & placards, and evacuation timing targets in rooftop/vertiport contexts.

• Batteries & HV isolation: Post-impact isolation, auto-disconnects, containment, and TR prevention in crash pulses.

• Verification plan: Coupons → sub-components → full-scale sled/drop tests; ATD instrumentation, biofidelity, and acceptance criteria; correlation of FE models to test.

• Production feasibility: Repeatable joints/bonds at rate, repairability after minor events, and traceable build records supporting conformity.

Weather That Decides the Mission: Micro-Weather, Vertiport Sensing & Dispatch Logic

TBA (Aviation Meteorology & AAM Ops Integration Lead)

Ultra-local weather—not regional TAFs—will make or break eVTOL reliability. This session turns micro-weather data and vertiport sensing into real dispatch decisions, charging plans, and U-space workflows.

• See the right sky: Low-altitude wind, shear, gust, ceiling, visibility, icing—what eVTOL actually needs.

• Sense the pad: Equip vertiports (met mast, LiDAR/SODAR, ceilometer, cameras) with sitings that avoid building wake.

• Fuse & nowcast: Blend sensors + mesoscale models into block-by-block nowcasts (≤5–10 min horizon).

• Set thresholds: Define go/no-go and caution bands for approach, hover, and downwash limits at 2 m AGL.

• Dispatch logic: Tie weather to routing, altitudes, ETAs, and charging SoC windows (cold-soak/hot-day).

• U-space integration: Auto-push constraints to flight approvals, sequencing, contingencies.

• De-risk icing: Forecast layers; pre-heat/pre-condition SOPs and alternate profiles.

• Resilience playbook: Re-optimize for pop-up gusts/AOG; pad closures and spillover pads.

• Monitor & learn: In-service truth data → model tuning; KPIs (on-time %, weather cancellations, pad downtime).

• Procure smart: SLAs for data latency/uptime, cyber-secure APIs, and failover to national sources.

Eats • Beats • Meets