Australian vertipad developer Skyportz has welcomed Professor Justin Leontini to its team as it focuses on developing a prototype for its vertipad patent that could reduce downwash power up to two and a half times faster than a traditional helipad.

Leontini is based at the Swinburne University of Technology's Air Hub in Melbourne and has more than 20 years of experience in applying fundamental flow physics to the modelling and simulation of fluid and aerodynamics. He has furthered the understanding of fluid-structure interaction, the development and transition of flows to turbulence and the simulation and analysis of flow systems.

Skyportz released its vertipad patent at the Avalon International Airshow in Australia in March, taking home the Blue Sky innovation award. The modular vertipad patent addresses one of the standout issues for advanced air mobility in urban locations, namely amelioration of downwash and outwash. This issue has been highlighted by the FAA in January in the Engineering Brief 105A where the American air regulator indicated that vertipads will need to have a wind safety zone beyond the landing surface.

Professor Leontini and Swinburne University have been engaged to assist with further CFD modelling and trialling iterations of the Skyportz vertipad.

“The Skyportz vertipad patent has some very real applications as cities move to establishing vertiport networks outside of existing airports and helipads,” says Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown. “It means that with our vertipad you can safely use less land or fit more pads onto smaller plots. With Professor Leontini's assistance we intend to develop, quantify and prove the efficacy of our patent with rigorous peer reviews.”

International air regulators and future air taxi and vertiport operators have expressed an interest in the Skyportz vertipad patent, which will eventually be made available in emerging global markets under licence. Skyportz says it aims to break the nexus between aviation and airports and enable commercial and industrial property developers to host vertiports.

“The vertiport infrastructure is the missing piece of the puzzle for this industry. Without a multitude of new vertipad landing sites in places people want to go, the aircraft will never fulfil their potential,” Newton-Brown continues. “The interest from the property industry is rapidly building; we envisage that those properties with vertipads will attract higher rents as businesses seek to provide air taxi services for customers.”

The Australian air regulator CASA recently released vertiport guidelines, signalling a commitment to facilitate advanced air mobility in Australia. EASA and FAA have also released vertiport guidelines, signalling the wide policy support for new landing sites globally.

“The design concept of the Skyportz vertipad could dissipate power up to two and a half times faster than if an air taxi were to use a flat concrete landing surface,” comments Leontini. “The first iteration of the modelling conducted by Swinburne University has experimented with different landing surface treatments described in the patent. Our next step will involve adding mechanical devices detailed in the patent under and around the vertipad, which we expect will induce a Magnus effect and dissipate energy at an even higher rate while directing flows to desired zones away from waiting passengers. The practical implications for this research are that the safety area requirements around a vertipad may be reduced, enabling operations from smaller footprints safely.”