Cutting Through the eVTOL Aircraft Hype With Independent Expert Sergio Cecutta - FutureFlight

[@ecoideazventures6417]

It was really hard to find sensible and realistic commentary on this sector, so thanks a lot for making clear skies and i hope the first EVTOL takes to the sky soon :)

[@majortom8047]

As a veteran of 6 years in the USAF and 30 years flying for a major international airline, I have a critical question: how is aircraft traffic assigned/controlled? We all know that aircraft cannot be flying willy-nilly in the surrounding sky.

[@terrancestodolka4829]

Good point.. The FAA has to come up with that game plan with the Top manufactures of VTOL as like helicopters...👍

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

Well, it must and shall be autonomous because the deadweight of an onboard pilot constrains useful load too much. How is this going to integrate into the National Aerospace System: through decades of work that hasn't begun yet.

[@josephhalliday104]

FAA is mapping these blocks for EvTol. They have been working on this for years already. They are testing one of these over New Jersey right now. Joby, Archer, and Lilium are set to receive FAA certification in 2025. This puts them fully in the sky in 2026. Archer signing a $430m contract with the US military this week doesn’t hurt either.

[@davidmorris6854]

Pre programmed routes for quick transport of people or loads. Ehang seems to be way ahead of competitors

[@SergioVieroSavio]

¡Gracias!

[@saravanan-subramanian]

Excellent video on the whole industry with a lot of insights! Thx!

[@TheHustleBrothers]

i agree it was really good

[@TheBooban]

So I’m the only one who thinks if this was an expert he would tell us which company is most promising? This expert video is speculative bunk.

[@TheBagOfHolding]

@TheBooban evtols are speculative bunk. An honest aviation expert wouldn't think any of them are promising.

[@TheBooban]

@@TheBagOfHolding its so tiresome hearing this rhetoric. Maybe, but something with proof!

[@TheBagOfHolding]

@TheBooban the one that can demonstrate the ability to lift 200lbs and move it 5 miles is the most promising. Once one does, I'll dub it king of the evtols and most promising.

[@Kr0N05]

Sergio seems to have a good grasp on the entire industry as it stands right now - good guest.

[@Discover.Aviation]

Great discussion with Sergio Cecutta! It’s refreshing to see an objective take on the eVTOL industry and the challenges companies face. While there’s no shortage of ambition from pioneers like Joby, Archer, and Lilium, it’s important to stay grounded and recognize the complexity of scaling up, ecosystem development, and infrastructure needs. As competitors in the space, we’re excited to see how different companies tackle these challenges-whether it’s through battery tech or alternative fuel sources like hydrogen. The variety in design approaches is what makes this race so interesting!

[@leonard.l2671]

Could the technology concept be wrong to begin with?

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

Yes, it is wrong from the beginning.

[@GarryFishermusic]

Great comment “hybrid” is the flexibility needed imop with these types of aircraft,so loads of freight combined more passenger capacity doing more equals more profitable opportunities.

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

Welp, hybrid just adds weight without extending range, so that's a fail from the beginning.

[@TheBagOfHolding]

So basically the companies started out thinking it was possible but now know its not and won't tell so others jump in the fray and try. One day people will want proof they can take the weight of people a distance that would matter.

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

Exactly 💯

[@TheBagOfHolding]

If the battery technology was ready for this then it wouldn't be hard for companies to make evtol aircraft. Its not ready that's why there is no evidence on earth that any of them can lift the load they say they can and go the distance they say they can.

[@GarryFishermusic]

The gladiators enter who remains standing only time will tell fingers crossed Good luck to all

[@watchonjar]

the point he made about american cities being kind of weird is one thing i never realised until now. It is actually so true, in the uk for example, maybe wing works well in london but i doubt u will see as many efficiency gains in Manchester or Edinburgh. Infact even in large cities a company might run multiple models just becuase it makes more sense to use deca copter evtol for shorter routes then the winged.

[@TeresaSmith-w6c]

现有所有模态都不见得是最终模态，而且还面临自动驾驶后地面交通时效提高的竞争，在地面和民航夹缝中求生存的eVTOL需要安全的前提下，在场景、性价比、猎奇等多方面寻求出路，否则商业化的可能性就会逐渐缩小，因为你也不知道到时候天上还会飞出来什么载人飞行器

[@simonevans8979]

How many more start-ups will fail before we find one to rely on..?

[@davidmorris6854]

Ehang is so far in front but no one talks about them. I wonder why

[@albertorafaelcisnerosperfe4899]

❤ Fascinating 👏

This is the first vid I've seen that does a fine job of balancing optimism with reality. I do feel with current technology that hybrids will give the best balance of safety and range anxiety. With a lesser percentage pure EV in short commuter hops. The standards will be incredibly high because fast charging does seem to increase the risk of thermal runaway. A first world economy runs on the efficient energy we can produce now not the energy that hasn't even made it off the drawing board.

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

Aircraft do not benefit from hybrid because aircraft require lots of power continuously. Cars can get by with hybrid because only 10-20 HP is needed on the highway, and the engine can be shut off in stop and go traffic. None of those principles apply to aircraft.

[@Rdrake777]

Great Interview. Lots of new business knowledge

[@stickynorth]

I am still excited to see any real progress in this industry be it hydrogen, electric or hybrid powertrains... As long as they are cheaper and quieter, I approve...

[@TheHustleBrothers]

i agree

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

Nothing will beat kerosene in your lifetime.

[@mikemckee6583]

Even if all of the technical problems can be addressed (and that is a VERY big “if”), there looms an even bigger hurdle to overcome: Public acceptance/tolerance. There’s a very good reason why none of these e-VTOL manufacturers release videos of flight tests with ambient soundtracks (instead releasing silent videos or videos with music soundtracks). They know how LOUD these things are, and how unique their sound signature is (sounding like a thousand weed eaters flying overhead). No matter how well they perform operationally, just like the Concorde they will fail if the public leverages political pressure against them because of noise, frequency of overflight, or the very low altitudes at which they are designed to operate. It is very difficult to envision a solution to those problems unless significant restrictions on their operation are implemented, restrictions that would likely destroy the “fly anywhere” point-to-point operating concept that is integral to their business model. I give this industry about a 10% probability of success, and that’s only because I’m an optimist.

[@annettehurd9391]

Archer and Joby are already doing it. Joby just passed phase one of the FAA, however I see Archer catching up rapidly, I respectfully think you’re very wrong.

[@KirbyGriffin7]

Plug-in hybrid vectored thrust vtol should be the first step in scaled production of electric transportation aircraft. Batteries will catch up

[@BipolarBoomer]

Ditto re a thoughtful and informative video. I have made a silly amount of money on evtol stocks but I'm selling before reality sets in.

[@jasonatkins1467]

Did he say $300 TICKETS!?? I thought these were supposed to be cheap intracity travel options. These are nothing but cute science experiments. I mean, buy 1 Lillium. Or 10 new Hill Helicopters? These things are WILDLY expensive. Battery tech isn't here yet. MAYBE in 4 or 5 DECADES the eVtol might become a thing.

[@zepm7184]

I have heard that these eVTOLs can cost $10M each. Ticket prices will need to be high. A Robinson R66 helicopter can carry the same passengers and costs less than $1M. If this air taxi service is so popular how come no one is doing it now with a cheaper helicopter?

[@stanleyreznikov4325]

​@zepm7184 there is a limit on the amount of noise that densely populated cities can take. Evtols can change that

[@samajier2566]

Nice video....

[@graemesinclair5111]

6000W/kg cf 250W/kg? Ooooooof

[@jonathonwoolven2613]

Yep. Batteries weigh a lot. Hydrogen fuel cells might be the way forward. Hydrogen carries lots of potential energy with very little weight. Plus, it floats and burns upward, so put that fuel tank on the roof and we're good to fly.

[@graemesinclair5111]

Hydrogen has its share of problems too, has to be very highly compressed, it’s very difficult to transport and it can go boom?!

[@zepm7184]

The guy was laughing when he said it too.

[@SreehariVariar]

Why these guys couldn't replace some of the helicopter hops from New Orleans to Gulf of Mexico offshore rigs? They always fly stuff like tools out at the helicopter premium.

[@TaskSwitcherify]

Show me the flight tests

[@AINvideo]

Joby, Archer, Volocopter, Lilium, Beta Technologies, Wisk, etc have all posted videos of test flights. Check out their KZbin channels, and we also often use clips from these flights in our videos. Thanks for watching!

[@TheBagOfHolding]

​@AINvideo empty edited flights. There is no proof they can lift a pilot and passangers for a full minute. They need to prove thet can lift and move the needed weight. Its never been proven by anyone.

[@doughowdy7009]

@@TheBagOfHolding Load it up with 4 passengers and 200lbs of baggage,. It will never leave the ground. These companies are all fraudsters. Lilium just went bankrupt. Scammed $1.5 Billion from private investors

I own Joby, Archer and Lilium. I am hopeful that just one of them takes off (pun intended) but hey if all three are successful, heck yeah. I think Joby is much further along in every aspect but hey, more to come....good luck to all.

[@SharkOrDie]

3, 5, 7 years it’s all good! DCA into position to eventually profit!

@SharkOrDie DCA?

[@erikdexter3100]

DCA is the best

[@terrancestodolka4829]

❤ Hope they work harder to learn a lot before it's first and second crash so that they are well ahead of the posibilty of disastors... So it will not be catastrophy of being fatal... And>>Hopping for the best in the e-VTOL market...

[@jaeluatl]

“Bona fide independent expert consultant” lol that has to be six oxymorons using five words lol

[@kenoakes6725]

if you live in Joizy you'll know what these are

[@DanFrederiksen]

I get the impression that there is much posing but very little flying. Any truth to that? it's just not that hard to make a people drone and the decades are starting to tick by. I'm not impressed.

[@livingroomguitarist7]

Joby has flown their S4 over 33k miles. The only other company that has been flying as much is Beta Technologies

[@DanFrederiksen]

@@livingroomguitarist7 that's about 2 minutes of flight per day in the 15 years they have been at it. Are we there yet?

[@88njtrigg88]

​@@livingroomguitarist7Energy density.

[@88njtrigg88]

My comment removed, because l commented about energy density?

[@AINvideo]

We did not remove any comment, for what it is worth. We appreciate a good discussion.

[@ScottDieken]

Archer aviation claims a huge backlog of orders by this guy saying no one has a backlog of orders so what is the truth

[@doughowdy7009]

Lilium just went bankrupt. I wonder who's next ?

[@vijilant]

Batteries are improving rapidly - long term, they'll be better than hydrogen, because hydrogen has too many innate problems that can't just be engineered away. Batteries OTOH, we're nowhere near the theoretical ceiling, because they're not just one technology. But that's quite long term. Decades. Hydrogen or even just a gas hybrid makes sense as a stop gap.

[@carlosaugustoerthal8098]

Thurst vectoring has no future in civil passenger transport.

[@leonard.l2671]

Specifically electric..

[@erikdexter3100]

Thrust vectoring 2.0 is twice as good as version 1

[@AlexsandroLasch-mv4qg]

Boa noite helicóptero com turbinas

[@Chris.Davies]

Any plane powered by Li-Ion batteries is going to kill everyone on board, at some random time, when the batteries decide to incinerate themselves. Truly crazy stuff. I would NEVER fly in one!

[@JeremyParsons]

The Boeing 787 had large lithium ion batteries but only a few non fatal fires so far! Actually, LG just announced a fire suppressing battery separator on 1st October 2024

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

That's why the wing-based design has a little better hope of success. *When* the fire starts, the batteries will be ejected, and the aircraft will have to glide to the ground using the wing's lift. Electric gliders have already experienced in-flight fires. I think there has been at least one death.

[@doughowdy7009]

The FAA hates these batteries. Li-ion batteries are banned as cargo on commercial flights, as they have a nasty habit of self combusting due to thermal runaway. How the heck would these things get approved for use in any aircraft. It will never happen..

[@philipgregory4748]

contain your ego - we are NOT heree to see YOU talk!!

[@spookerr]

These are fkying around in NJ.