Skyports testbed vertiport for Bicester Motion receives planning consent
Announcements on advanced air mobility (AAM) collaborations are coming thick and fast. This week Vertiport infrastructure developer, Skyports, is once again hitting the headlines, having unveiled designs for its permanent vertiport testbed, alongside partners Bicester Motion and Vertical Aerospace. The project is the first permanent UK vertiport infrastructure proposal to secure planning consent.
“With the green light from Cherwell District Council, now begins the exciting sage in vertiport development: building it,” said Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports. “The tests and trials we conduct at this facility will be instrumental to the future of quiet, electric, vertical flight.”
Situated in Oxfordshire, Bicester Motion offers a 444-acre future mobility estate, while electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) developer, Vertical Aerospace, is pioneering zero-emissions aviation. The Skyport designed vertiport will be positioned adjacent to Bicester Motion’s existing general aviation grass runways and will include a compact160sq.m. passenger terminal facility.
According to Walker, the infrastructure at Bicester Motion will “facilitate important learnings and demonstrations that advance the adoption of AAM.”
Skyport’s designs showcase Vertical’s latest VX4 prototype, which will be the first eVTOL to fly at the vertiport. Designed to be piloted and carry four passengers with a range of up to 100 miles, the VX4 successfully completed its first tethered piloted flight in July. Vertical will use the Skyports vertiport to conduct demonstration flights and test key procedures as part of a robust piloted test flight programme and ahead of commercial launch.
Inside the vertiport will be equipped with Skyports’ proprietary vertiport technology solutions, including its Resource Management and Scheduling System (RMSS) and its Vertiport Automation Systems (VAS).
Underlining the role small airports and airfields play in advancing the future of flight, Daniel Geoghegan, Chief Executive, Bicester Motion, said the unveiling of the vertiport was a significant moment. “The former RAF Bicester was born in a period of intense technological innovation and played its role in 1938 when the Halifax prototype L7244 flew its maiden trial flights from Bicester.
“Today, we continue to welcome aircraft from all eras including new mobility technologies to provide a viable future for our historic airfield through such pioneering partnerships as Skyports. The vertiport green light enables us to continue to host such aviation innovation and advance a world where sustainable and accessible electric aviation is in reach for all,” he continued.
Skyports’ vertiport is being developed as part of the Advanced Mobility Ecosystem Consortium: a group of British aviation, technology and transportation organisations backed by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Flight Challenge. The vertiport living lab will not only demonstrate flight procedures, but will also validate the entire ecosystem. “Gaining planning consent was a critical milestone and provided important learning for all stakeholders involved, helping to enable and scale advanced air mobility in the UK,” concluded James Richmond, Head of Future Flight at AtkinsRealis, which is leading the consortium.
