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W.Sitting in the back of a cab as it crawls through downtown traffic, the clock on the dashboard mocks you as it marches relentlessly toward the last boarding call you missed and the non-refundable ticket fee. The race to make a successful flight is almost as old as commercial aviation itself, with repeated attempts at solutions over the years. Companies such as Uber, Hyundai, United Airlines and Archer are now working on fleets of eVTOL aircraft to serve as short-hop air taxis, transporting travelers from city centers to airports while Confusion and annoyance of ground transportationIn the 1960s, companies such as Chicago Helicopter Airways (CHA) made extensive use of repurposed US Navy helicopters whose rotors rarely failed catastrophically. largely.
After World War II, the U.S. government found itself with a large military aircraft fleet. There were over 150,000 aircraft, helicopters and various windmills, all of which had to be moved to a location that was not in storage or landfill. At the same time, the emerging middle class got a chicken in every pot and car on every driveway promised, along with all the traffic and congestion that particular American his dream creates. So, in the early 1950s, the federal government initiated a series of subsidy programs to promote helicopter commuting as an alternative to cars within cities, addressing both issues simultaneously.
CHA began its existence in post-war America in 1948 as a regional mail delivery service. Greater Chicagoland A fleet of Sikorsky S-58C and H-34A Choctaw helicopters, but switched to carrying human passengers from 1956 to 1963. Died Megs Field, Gary, Indiana.
For $5 in 1962 money (just under $50 today), travelers could travel from Winnetka, on the northern edge of the city, to Terminal 3 in O’Hare in less than 10 minutes. Or, for $11, tourists could reserve a space on the “Complete Triangle Flight” helicopter tour of the entire city of Chicago.According to a digitized brochure archived at Timetable imageAir France, BOAC Lufthansa, Mexicana, Northwest, PAA, or TWA to and from “Europe, South or Central America, Alaska, or beyond the Pacific”, free helicopter service between Midway and O’Hare I was entitled to a transfer.
At its peak in 1960, CHA operated 126 flights carrying 6,000 passengers daily.But that success didn’t last long Tragedy of Flight 698On July 20, 1960, 11 passengers and two crew members took off from O’Hare Airport and headed for Midway in clear skies. A few minutes into the journey, disaster struck when the main rotor failed and fell apart. The crew attempted an emergency landing, which was subsequently unsuccessful as the tail-his rotors were damaged and the aircraft nosedive into Forrest his home his cemetery. It burst into flames, killing all 13 people on board.
By 1963, just three years later, CHA’s business had halved and only 3,000 people opted for a helicopter ride to the airport. By 1966, the federal grant program was on schedule and funds quickly dried up, effectively ending CHA’s operations. The company attempted to revive him with limited service in 1969, but closed again in 1974.
CHA isn’t the only company aiming for air commuting. Similar services have been added in Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC and the San Francisco Bay Area. European cities have also launched their own services, such as Paris, Brussels, Dorseldorf and between Gatwick and Heathrow airports in the UK.
The obvious problem was that the aircraft at the time had only one rotor to provide lift and was in danger of severe mechanical failure. This became a problem with the six-rotor Bell Nexus, which was slated for use in Uber’s now-defunct air taxi service, Volocopter’s similarly spec product, or his five-rotor VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft. not. Boeing tested his 2019 version.
However, finding reliable funding remains a challenge, with even Larry Page’s favorite VTOL project, Kitty Hawk, shutting down operations in 2022, resulting in much of its technology development being outsourced to incumbent aerospace companies. I am concentrating on Airbus is working on its own VTOL, as is Honda, but United plans to rejuvenate its fleet by purchasing all of his 500 units from his VTOL maker Eve Air Mobility. Announced. Joby Aviation, where he acquired Uber’s air taxi business in 2020, also received significant investment from Delta.