Overair, developer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bristow Group. The two companies plan to collaborate on the development of the Butterfly commercialization plans.
Bristow has pre-ordered 20 to 50 Butterfly aircraft and both companies will work together to develop an operations development framework focusing on vehicle design considerations, key performance parameters, FAA certification, flight planning best practices, data sharing for improvement of flight operations, connected vehicle and health monitoring strategies, configuration and maintenance protocols, infrastructure, ground support operations, connected fleet management, and government affairs and promotion of eVTOL operations.
"Bristow's decades of vertical lift experience will greatly enhance Butterfly's path to commercialization. Their operating insight, combined with our development and execution of the Butterfly program, will position Butterfly to serve Bristow as a valuable workhorse on high-density routes," said Ben Tigner, Chief Executive Officer of Overair. "We're elated to learn from Bristow's practical expertise and ultimately deliver an aircraft optimized for their use cases."
"Our MOU with Overair allows us to advance our leadership position in the vertical transportation market that we've built over the past 70+ years and will now set the stage for the next generation of vertical flight. Our collaboration facilitates expansion into new high-density geographic markets with sustainable, innovative and efficient vertical lift and aerial transport services," said Bristow President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Bradshaw. "As the global leader in vertical lift, Bristow's operational expertise and efficiency, supported by the trust and confidence of our customers, can safely bring eVTOL aircraft into the market."
Bristow expects to optimize its fleet management strategy by matching eVTOL attributes with the most economically productive mission profiles. Butterfly's low-noise profile, payload capacity and ability to fly in a broad range of weather conditions is claimed to be well-suited for high-density, noise sensitive routes in geographies with varied environmental concerns.