Are Community Leaders Ready for Air Taxis and AAM? AAM4Gov Provides the Background Decision Makers Need

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is on the horizon: but are community leaders ready?  Do they understand the technology, applications, challenges and opportunities that AAM presents?

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb

AAM4Gov, a Brighton, UK-based educational provider, recently announced the launch of their first online class focused on supporting decision makers as they navigate the quick-changing world of advanced air mobility. Supported by the UK Research and Innovation Future Flight Challenge and delivered by Innovate UK and the Economic and Social Research Council, AAM4Gov won the “Future Flight: Closing the Skills Gaps” competition for creating new educational resources as AAM begins to grow in importance and visibility.

“While many councils have been using drones for years to reduce survey and maintenance costs and support first responders – such as fire services, police and coast guard units – in saving lives, new technology developments are about to rapidly increase the number and capabilities of drones in the skies above us,” said Philip Butterworth-Hayes, editorial director of AAM4Gov. “The first electric air taxis will fly in Europe next year, while drones will soon be delivering defibrillators, medicines and pizzas to households throughout the UK. For councils, this is an opportunity and a challenge. Our remote learning courses have been designed to help local authorities more easily and quickly develop policies to optimise the benefits and reduce the risks.”

The course covers (or will cover, as the program expands over the next few months) a wide range of topics: from legal, regulatory, and insurance issues to drone security and ways of engaging with the public. As the program expands, AAM4Gov seeks to fill the needs of UK officials who seek a deeper understanding of the future of UAVs in both the long and short term.

The first three courses now available are:

1. An Introduction to AAM & UAM
2. Community Benefits of Drones and eVTOLs
3. AAM Public Consultation – covering methods of engaging with local communities to ensure citizens’needs are prioritised in any new service launch.

Further courses scheduled for November are:

4. AAM Drone Security – critical aspects of drone security and managing drone nuisance
5. AAM and the Law
6. AAM Policy Making – developing drone/AAM policies which attract new investment and business, while reducing costs and environmental footprints.

More information on AAM4Gov is available here.

Read more:

• Advanced Air Mobility: What Needs to Go Right for AAM to Fly? From the Floor of NBAA’s BACE
• NBAA, Stakeholders Caution AAM Working Group: Competition is “Fierce and Rapidly Advancing”
• South Korea Moves Full Speed Ahead on Advanced Air Mobility: PLANA, Hi-Air Ink Deal for 30 AAM Aircraft
• Passenger eVTOL Wisk Aero, Japan Airlines Partner to Bring AAM to Japan
• SkyDrive Enters U.S. Market with Plans to Develop Practical Uses for eVTOLs and an AAM Ecosystem

Ian McNabb is a staff writer based in Boston, MA. His interests include geopolitics, emerging technologies, environmental sustainability, and Boston College sports.