RFPs: Fast-Track Enabling Innovative Air Mobility (IAM)/Vertical Take-Off and Landing Capable Aircraft (VCA) (Crewed and Uncrewed) Operations

Scope

• The following list of R&I needs is proposed as an illustration of the potential project content, but it is not meant as prescriptive. Proposals may include other research elements beyond the proposed research elements below if they are justified by their contribution to achieve the expected outcomes of the topic and are fully aligned with the development priorities defined in the European ATM Master Plan.
  • Vertiport management for crewed VCA
    • EC IR 2014/1111 established the requirements for operations of crewed VCA, with specific requirements for the specification in the operational flight plan of at least two safe landing options at the destination, as well as adequate vertiports, diversion locations for VTOL aircraft (carrying out flights for medical missions in urban areas) (VEMs) operating sites that are available and permit a landing to be executed in a critical failure for performance (CFP). The research must establish how to fulfil this requirement from the ATS perspective, addressing:
    • If the landing sites should be introduced in the ATS flight plan (the regulation currently leaves this point open) and if so, how this would be done for both VFR aircraft and IFR aircraft. Note for IFR crewed VCA, the landing sites should be included in the FF-ICE flight plan and coordination is needed with the WA1 or WA3 projects working in this area).
    • Design and validate process to book all landing sites from departure to destination and progressively release contingency sites as the flight progresses and investigate how this process will be integrated with ATM processes. Research should investigate if for VFR aircraft the booking of the landing sites should be linked to a new VFR flight plan acceptance process, to an ATC clearance to land at the destination and all the landing sites given at the time of take-off, to a FIS-like service declaring all sites are available is sufficient to cover the requirement, or a different U-space service needs to be defined. The legal liability in case the landing site is not available when the VCA arrives must be investigated.
  • Advanced vertiport and VCA U-space services
    • This element covers vertiport management functions and activities that impact traffic management for vertiports located in U-space airspace, bearing in mind the constraints imposed by battery powered aircraft. This may include:
      • Processes that determine or limit take off time.
      • Processes that determine or limit landing time.
      • Processes governing occupancy of critical resources such as the touchdown and liftoff area (TLOF).
  • Crewed IFR VCA
    • The aim of the research is to develop the concept for IFR crewed VCA, building on existing SESAR solutions for IFR helicopters “Optimised low-level IFR routes for rotorcraft” (SESAR solution #113) and “Independent rotorcraft operations at airports” (SESAR solution PJ.02-05). The solution should assess the applicability of existing IFR rotorcraft procedures and flight planning processes to VCA, adapting them where necessary.
    • In particular, the research must assess how VCA energy management constraints may affect the capability of VCA aircraft to follow the type of IFR clearances in use for helicopters and develop and validate their use for VCA, proposing and validating new clearances where needed.
  • Automation of the VCA cockpit and remote pilot’s working position
    • The objective of this element is to address pilot digital assistance and automation support for the VCA cockpit to support a simplified VCA workload (e.g., aimed at a reduction of VCA crew workload related to pilot’s tasks and tasks related to communication with ATM, implementation of tactical ATC clearances, and on-board implementation of strategic changes to the flight plan in the execution phase for IFR VCA (after an FF-ICE/R2 revision process). The scope includes in particular the development of cockpit automation to support a concept for digital ATM communications via CPDLC during all phases of flight (en-route, TMA and airport).
    • The ultimate objective is to make it possible that the flight crew workload is reduced to support the concept of one remote pilot overseeing from its working position two or more VCAs.
  • Automatic take-off and landing (ATOL) for crewed or uncrewed VCA and helicopters
    • The scope includes the development of navigation and procedures to enable all -weather take-off and landing for crewed or uncrewed VCA. Resilience of the navigation solution must be addressed. The solution is expected to progress from an initial flight-director-based concept towards the end goal of autopilot-based ATOL. Charts, procedure design and avionics should be addressed. Note that similarly to what happens today with Autoland for fixed-wing aircraft today, air traffic aspects e.g. clearance for approach, take-off and landing are not different in ATOL from vs. manual TOL (just like whether Autoland is used does not change the way ATM currently manages a flight), and hence do not need to be covered by this solution.
  • ATC and flight information service (FIS) automation support
    • VCA will first be certified as VFR, to later progress to IFR. The objective of the research is to increase the level of automation of VFR aircraft by ATC and FIS. Flight data processing systems (FDPSs) are designed for supporting ATC in the management of IFR aircraft, and typically do not provide adequate functionality to support ATC for the management of VFR aircraft. This results in VFR flights often causing unexpected ATS workload in the lower airspace. Research shall develop ATS automation tools and procedures to provide ATC or FIS services to VFR aircraft in airspace C-G and FIS services to IFR aircraft in uncontrolled airspace (airspace F and G). Research shall aim, as much as possible, at developing tools and concepts that can be applicable to both ATC (TWR or En-Route/TMA) and AFIS.

Funding Information

• Budget (EUR) – Year 2025: 20 000 000
• Contributions: 2000000 to 5000000
• The maximum project duration is 36 months.

Expected Outcomes

• To significantly advance the following development actions:
  • IR-6-04 Enabling IAM/VTOL capable aircraft (crewed and uncrewed) operations, including in complex environments, congested areas and vertiports. This includes IAM operational procedures enabling access to all types of airspace and vertiports (both VMC and IMC) and IAM automation including simplified vehicle operations, automatic take-off and landing (TOL), resilient navigation, energy management, etc.
• Research shall take into consideration the work done under EASA on this element, especially in relation to General Aviation i-conspicuity needs.

Eligibility Criteria

• Entities eligible to participate:
  • Entities eligible to participate Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from nonassociated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call/topic.
  • A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality .
• Entities eligible for funding :
  • To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding. To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
    • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions:
      • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
    • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States:
      • Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
    • countries associated to Horizon Europe;
      • Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

For more information, visit EC.