Skyportz has won the Blue Sky Innovation Award at the Avalon International Airshow in Australia for its vertipad design. The judging panel said it identified the threat of downwash from air taxi rotors early and responded with a well-reasoned technical solution.

Dr Gregor Ferguson, who convenes the innovation awards, says: “The judging panel was impressed by all of the entries and the Skyportz vertipad was a worthy winner in a very strong field of entrants.”

The FAA highlighted downwash risks in January through Engineering Brief 105A, stating that vertipads will require a wind safety zone beyond their landing surface where wind speeds exceed 34.5 mph. These safety zones could increase the required footprint of future vertiports depending on aircraft type.

Research led by Swinburne University’s AIR Hub, led by professor Jutin Leontini, found that the Skyportz design dissipates rotor energy up to 250% faster than flat tarmac, allowing smaller safety zones and denser vertiport layouts. The AIR Hub is known for aerospace prototype development across robotics, materials science and AI.

Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown says: “The Skyportz vertipad patent has some very real applications as cities move to establishing vertiport networks outside of existing airports and helipads. It means that with our vertipad you can safely use less land or fit more vertipads onto smaller plots. We are now in discussions with potential partners to license our technology in all emerging markets so we can make our vertipad available to all.”

He adds: “The vertiport infrastructure is the missing piece of the puzzle for this industry. It is only with a multitude of new vertipad landing sites in places people want to go that the industry will be able to deliver on the promise of aviation on demand.”

Skyportz holds a provisional Australian patent on the vertipad design, with international protections in place. Australia’s CASA, along with EASA and the FAA, has published guidelines supporting the development of vertiport infrastructure.