The water is held within a sealed substructure beneath the vertipad to eliminate environmental hazards. The design has been engineered to meet or exceed both FAA and EASA safety standards.

In a bold move, Skyportz is offering its intellectual property for free. While seemingly altruistic, the strategy positions the company at the forefront of AAM infrastructure development. Aircraft design may be advancing rapidly, but infrastructure is lagging — and by releasing its IP early, Skyportz aims to secure a first-mover advantage and establish its vertipad as the default industry platform.

The U.S. is emerging as a critical early market for AAM, and Skyportz is positioning itself in conversations with the FAA, NASA and local governments. “We will soon be ready for full scale prototype testing,” said CEO Clem Newton-Brown. “We would prefer to partner with real world users to collaborate at this stage. Rather than building a mock-up vertipad at a test location, there is benefit for Skyportz to see our design built in active airport locations.”

Newton-Brown confirmed discussions are already underway with four airports in the U.S., and the company is also seeking collaboration with OEMs to align the infrastructure design with specific aircraft requirements. “Being able to sell the package of an aircraft fleet together with a solution to facilitate a network of destinations will be a real point of difference that we can offer to help kickstart the industry,” he said.

“These early stage partnerships are about proving and improving the product. There will be plenty of time to sell our product once it gains traction in real world settings,” Newton-Brown concluded.