Backed by the UK Government and supported by Supernal, Air-One will operate in the Westminster Car Park located near Coventry’s main rail and bus station for the next month.
Air-One will provide a blueprint for more than 200 vertiports planned worldwide by Urban-Air Port over the next five years.
It will demonstrate how ground infrastructure can unlock the potential for eVTOLs for moving people and goods.
Ricky Sandhu, Founder and Executive Chairman of Urban-Air Port says: “Air-One is just the first model in our infrastructure fleet and our order-book is not only open but already growing. The interest is turning into recognition of the need for our technology and into demand.”
In the UK, vertiports are planned in the West Midlands and London, and internationally in the US, Australia, South Korea, France, Germany, Scandinavia and South East Asia.
Air-One will demonstrate aircraft command and control, charging, cargo loading and host demonstrator flights.
UK-based drone developer, Malloy Aeronautics will demonstrate flights of large cargo drones, marking the first time that a drone of that size has flown in such a dense and built-up environment.
Coventry was chosen as the first site due to its location in the heart of the UK, and the plan is to redeploy Air-One to other locations in the UK and internationally to test it in different environments.
The vertiports are designed for passenger air taxis, autonomous delivery drones, disaster emergency management and defence operations.
They are designed to be deployed at short notice so drones and other eVTOLs can collect and transport emergency supplies, equipment and people in disaster situations, operating off-grid using on-site hydrogen fuel cell, zero-emission generation.