Skyportz, an Australian developer of vertiports, has revealed an animation created by Vertiport Simulations, based in Florida, showcasing its patented vertipad design at the Paris Air Show.
This design addresses critical challenges associated with advanced air mobility in urban environments, specifically focusing on the management of downwash and outwash, as well as fire suppression capabilities.
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlighted the importance of addressing downwash and outwash in its Engineering Brief 105A released in January.
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The FAA indicated that vertipads must incorporate a wind safety zone extending beyond the landing surface, defined as areas where wind speeds exceed 34.5mph.
The newly released animation illustrates how airports such as Paris-Le Bourget can effectively integrate multiple vertipads nearby.
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By GlobalDataThe design features dynamic height adjustments for the final approach and takeoff (FATO) landing surface, along with an adjustable blast screen. These elements allow airports to tailor settings for different aircraft types, optimising downwash management.
By reducing wind speeds, the design minimises the spatial requirements for safe operations, facilitating the placement of multiple pads adjacent to one another.
Following touchdown, the vertipad can be lowered to ground level, allowing the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to exit the pad and proceed to charging stations.
This design enhances the efficiency of high-throughput vertiports by ensuring that the vertipad remains available for subsequent aircraft.
In the event of a fire, the patented design provides a rapid response solution for vertiport operators. The system allows for the complete immersion of a burning aircraft in water, which is contained to prevent environmental contamination.
With all landing surfaces lowered into a pit, the area can be flooded to extinguish battery fires, enabling airport operations to resume promptly.
Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown said: “The Paris Airshow has been a showcase for the emerging Advanced Air Mobility industry.
“This animation of our patent in action helps people to understand how important it is to have intelligent design for vertipad operations that go beyond simply painting a circle on a tarmac. Our vertipad patent solves some of the biggest issues facing the industry.”
Recently, Skyportz completed a fundraising round, attracting 461 new investors to support ongoing research and development in collaboration with Swinburne University and Sophrodyne Aerospace.
The company plans to licence the manufacturing and distribution of the vertipad as global markets develop. An international patent application reserving all rights was filed on 6 June 2025.
