ZEVA Aero: As seen in Robb Report, New Atlas, Design Boom, Freethink, Interesting Engineering, and more! 

Some of our favorite coverage from the past few months:

• “Forget Air Taxis. This Personal Flying Saucer Zings You Through the Air Like a Sci-Fi Hero.” - Robb Report
• “A Personal Flying Vehicle Prototype Can Fly You at 160 MPH” - Interesting Engineering
• “Is this one-seat flying saucer the future of flight?” - Freethink
• “ZEVA's 160-mph electric UFO: An air taxi experience like no other” - New Atlas

Why invest in ZEVA?

💡 MARKET OPPORTUNITY: Analysts and transportation industry leaders predict incredible growth for #eVTOL in the coming years.

💡LEADERSHIP: ZEVA’s founding team delivers decades of experience leading teams of engineers and managing multi-million dollar R&D budgets to develop and mass-produce electronics at both start-ups and multinational corporations.

💡TRACTION: ZEVA has a full-scale working prototype and is now performing flight tests, which puts us ahead of most entities in the eVTOL space. ZEVA’s aircraft configuration is patent-pending and we will be ready for pre-orders soon.

Know someone who should invest? Share our Twitter or Instagram post with them!

At ZEVA, we’re conducting flight tests almost daily. They’re a crucial part of our progress toward untethered flight. 

Here’s what goes into that process: 

✈️  3 crucial roles: pilot, telemetry data monitor (temperature, voltage, current), belayer for tethered flight

✈️  Complete a rigorous startup sequence, developed by Controls Engineer Gus Meyer

✈️  Record the test data. Each test focuses on improving: stability, controllability, electrical efficiency, or thermal monitoring

[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].

Hello!

As you might know, ZEVA AERO has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in ZEVA AERO be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.

This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.

Thanks for funding the future.

-StartEngine

2021 was a year of tremendous growth for ZEVA.

This year, we: 

1) Moved to a new, 14,000 sq ft flight test facility

2) Launched our crowdfunding campaign here on StartEngine

3) Embarked on collaborative research with Washington State University

4) Expanded our core team and grew our Advisory Board

5) Shared our vision for ZEVA from Seattle to Dubai and were featured in various regional, nationwide, and global media

ZEVA CEO Stephen Tibbitts shared more about our 2021 milestones and progress in our latest newsletter. Take a look (and subscribe if you aren't already) here: https://mailchi.mp/zevaaero/zeva-aero-2021-update-15613355

Watch the evolution of the ZEVA ZERO in 20 seconds — from concept, to model, to full-scale prototype conducting regular flight tests.

2021 was a year of tremendous growth for ZEVA — and we’re grateful that you’ve been a part of it.  

In November, ZEVA had the distinct honor of being one of nine Washington-based organizations to join the Washington State Department of Commerce at this year’s 2021 Dubai Airshow, the fastest-growing airshow in the world. 

We are thrilled at the growing level of interest in eVTOL since we last attended the event in 2019. We presented at the U.S. Pavilion, made meaningful connections with potential customers and collaborators, and were inspired by global innovators who are just as passionate as we are about the future of flight.

Charlie Duke, a lunar module pilot on the 1972 Apollo 16 mission and the youngest man to walk on the moon, signs our ZEVA scale model 

ZEVA team member Andrew Balerud shares ZEVA use cases for military at the USA Partnership Pavilion

Read WA State Department of Commerce's full recap here. 

[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].

Hello!

As you might know, ZEVA AERO has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in ZEVA AERO be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.

This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.

Thanks for funding the future.

-StartEngine

ZEVA CTO Gurbir Singh is an engineer, inventor, and a former leader at Intel for 27 yrs. Gurbir is responsible for the invention of multiprocessor technology, has written several papers and a book on multiprocessor interconnection technology and holds 30+ patents.

See more about how Gurbir and the ZEVA team are fueling the future of personal air transportation: https://www.zevaaero.com/team-zeva/

The future of transportation is aerial. 

ZEVA CEO Stephen Tibbitts sat down with Loz Blain at New Atlas to share what it's going to be like to travel 160mph, Superman-style in the ZEVA single-person eVTOL aircraft. Read the article here.

Join us in welcoming Controls Engineer Gus Meyer to the ZEVA team!

Gus is a versatile engineer with a passion for developing unique air vehicles. He has designed, built, and flown a variety of multicopters from micro-drones to large, heavy-lift vehicles, and is fascinated by aerial systems that push the boundaries of what is possible. Specializing in flight performance optimization and flight controller firmware development, Gus is excited to help bring the ZERO to its full potential. 

Meet more of the team fueling the future of transportation: https://www.zevaaero.com/team-zeva/ 

Things are heating up at ZEVA! 

Thermal imaging is a core aspect of ZERO’s development. Motors and electronic speed controllers (ESCs) can heat up rapidly during propeller operation. The design of the nacelles (the covers that go around the motor-arms) is key to ensuring that enough air-flow is present to keep the system cool. 

Along with the thermal sensors built into each device, we use thermal imaging as a redundancy to monitor the temperature of the entire system in real time. 

Read more about our work at https://www.zevaaero.com/zero/ 

What excites us most about eVTOL? 

Its potential to transform transportation as we know it within the next 20 years. 

In just 3 years, we plan to integrate our single-person eVTOL into emergency services and defense markets, then bring ZEVA to garages and hangars of consumers. By 2040, we believe consumer-owned eVTOL will be the standard.

We’re thrilled you're on this journey with us to create the future of flight!

“Nothing makes you yearn for personal flying vehicles more than New York traffic — just imagine being able to yeet out of your automobile as soon as things start to go sour on the highway. Now, wouldn't that be the dream?

“A team of Washington State University (WSU) researchers is working with ZEVA Aero, a Tacoma-based start-up, and testing components to create a single-passenger, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, taking us one step closer to turning that dream into reality.

“In fact, ZEVA Aero has completed a functional prototype of an incredibly futuristic-looking eVTOL vehicle, with the goal of first responders and emergency services using it first.”

Read more about our collaboration with WSU in Interesting Engineering

On October 26, the ZEVA team made its way to the Museum of Flight in Tukwila, WA for Aerospace Futures Alliance’s Annual Summit. This event convened top thought-leaders in Washington's aerospace industry — from entrepreneurs, to lawmakers, to senior executives at Boeing and Alaska Airlines — to discuss the most pressing issues surrounding the future of aerospace.

The main themes from conversations at the summit:

Sustainable Aviation

Whether the solution is electric aircraft innovations or alternative fuel solutions, leaders from the private and public sector must collaborate to coordinate the infrastructure necessary to effectively enact this shift. (For example, airports need improved infrastructure to support electric aircraft charging.) 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

It’s crucial that all voices and experiences have an equitable opportunity to collaborate on advancement and innovation for aerospace. Only by bringing together a collection of diverse perspectives will we ensure our strongest collective future.

Growing the Washington Ecosystem

Washington’s more than $90 billion aerospace industry is crucial to the regional economy and to the U.S. as a whole. Major industry players like Boeing boost the economy by not only keeping their business operations in the state, but also ensuring that their subcontractors, such as component manufacturers, are Washington based. ZEVA plans on helping to grow Washington’s aerospace ecosystem by continuing to develop and manufacture our single-passenger aircraft in the Puget Sound area.

We’re thrilled to join in on these regional conversations, and we’re looking forward to joining the global conversation at the Dubai Airshow on Nov 14-18. Follow us on Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, and Instagram for updates.

With over 170 investors so far, ZEVA has passed $130,000 raised on StartEngine!

Thank you to everyone that has helped us reach another important milestone. We’re thrilled you’re on this journey with us. 

If you have yet to invest, join us on the route to our next milestone: $200,000! You can contribute starting at $200. 

We humans have become addicted to energy. 

The global average consumption of energy is 78 million BTU per person per year, which is equivalent to almost two tons of oil. [1] In the U.S., transportation accounts for 26 percent of all energy consumption — and petroleum accounts for around 90 percent of all transportation-related energy consumption. [2]

Electric vehicles (EVs) help reduce the environmental impacts of our energy consumption by utilizing “less dirty” forms of energy. They’re also incredibly energy efficient, meaning they convert electrical energy to motion more effectively than other forms of transportation.

The global market share of electrified cars, SUVs, and other commercial and passenger vehicles grew from 8 percent in 2019 to 12 percent in 2020, and has shown continued strength in early 2021. This shift will continue to accelerate dramatically in the years to come, with forecasts predicting that by 2026, electrified vehicles will account for more than half of commercial and passenger vehicles sold globally. [3] 

This increased market traction is good news, no doubt. But what about flying EVs, or eVTOLs (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing)?

In 2019, researchers at the University of Michigan performed a study,[4] sponsored by Ford, to assess the environmental sustainability impacts of eVTOLs. The results of the study indicate that for trips over 21 miles, an eVTOL generates fewer emissions than Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles, approaches the level of Battery Electric ground vehicles, and reduces travel times by up to 80 percent on average.

eVTOLs offer a compelling new transportation mode that will help accelerate the move away from traditional ICE vehicles. Most of the eVTOLs in design are 100 percent electric and zero emissions (if the source of electrical energy is renewable: hydro, solar, wind, nuclear, biogas).

ZEVA’s goal of putting a ZEVA in every garage is our way of lowering global carbon emissions by taking millions of ICE cars off the highways and putting eVTOLs in the air.

-Stephen Tibbitts, CEO, ZEVA

Sources:
 "World Energy Balances – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 10 June 2021.

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/ 

https://www.bcg.com/en-us/publications/2021/why-evs-need-to-accelerate-their-market-penetration 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09426-0

By 2050, 68% of the world’s population—6.3B people—are projected to live in metro areas. This has major implications for traffic, commute times, and infrastructure. That's why we're so passionate about opening up the third dimension for short-range travel: urban air mobility (UAM).

UAM is broadly defined as small, #eVTOL aircraft that are designed to fly small groups of people or cargo across metropolitan regions faster than ground vehicles. The ZEVA ZERO is a new class of aircraft that blends the best features of multi-copter with streamlined wing-body for improved range and efficiency.

Learn more at https://www.zevaaero.com/

For first responders, getting a medic on scene faster can mean the difference between life and death. 

The transportation market is in great need of a first responder vehicle like the ZEVA. Imagine the impact a fleet of autonomous electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles for emergency response could have on disasters like the California wildfires.

The ZEVA ZERO is a personal flying machine that transitions from hover mode to forward flight mode and cruises comfortably at 160mph. ZERO is a new class of aircraft that blends the best features of multi-copter with streamlined wing-body for improved range and efficiency:

• ZERO Emissions
• ZERO Waiting
• NO AIRSTRIP: 30’x30′ landing area only
• CAPACITY: 1 Person (220 lbs)
• RANGE: 50 miles (best in class)
• FAST: 160 mph cruise
• SAFE: Highly reliable all electric drive
• QUIET: 100% Electric

More about emergency response use cases: https://www.zevaaero.com/first-responders/  

ZEVA CEO Stephen Tibbitts is a serial entrepreneur, investor, engineer, and arguably the earliest predictor of eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) technology as proven by his 2005 NASA SBIR proposal, “EVA Tilt-rotor Electric Vehicle for Twenty-First Century Atmospheric Flight”. He has inspired work at NASA, Joby and many other companies working in the eVTOL arena. 

Stephen has been laying the groundwork for eVTOL since as early as 2003. Frustrated with the general aviation industry and specifically with the issue that hundreds of small airports have vanished, he realized that vertical take-off and landing aircraft were going to be the solution — they don’t require a landing strip, but rather a vertiport which has a much smaller and more affordable footprint.

In his 2005 SBIR proposal, Stephen predicted the events playing out today regarding eVTOL: “This unique flying machine has the potential to revolutionize general aviation in a number of ways including zero emissions, very quiet operation, vertical takeoff and landing, efficient cruise, affordability, and safety through redundant motors and dual landing modes to name a few.”

There is no doubt that Stephen and his proposal have since had a remarkable impact on eVTOL development worldwide. He has the ability to foresee selected mega-trends and eVTOL is an emerging phenomenon that represents one of the largest economic disruptions this century. We feel confident that ZEVA has an early mover advantage and is poised to become a market leader.

See more about how Stephen and team are fueling the future of personal air transportation: https://www.zevaaero.com/team-zeva/ 

Our CEO Stephen Tibbitts has been saying this for more than 15 years, and now, industry analysts are saying it: eVTOL vehicles have the potential to lead to the largest market opportunity in our lifetimes. This is a nascent market and a paradigm shift. 

There is little historical market information for these types of vehicles, yet analysts including Frost & Sullivan, Morgan Stanley and Market Research Future have predicted incredible growth.

Safe, affordable, sustainable and efficient advanced air mobility is not only likely in our lifetimes, but it will transform the transportation landscape — and we’re thrilled you’re on this journey with us as we develop our ZEVA ZERO eVTOL aircraft.

ZERO, our personal electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft isn’t hypothetical — we’ve designed and built a full scale working prototype and are currently performing flight tests, putting us ahead of most other players in the eVTOL space. 

We designed and built this craft in-house — from the custom battery packs, to the beautiful carbon fiber body.

We recently moved from our 5,000 sq ft prototyping lab to our 14,000 sq-ft flight test facility to continue indoor tethered flight testing.

This new facility includes all of the assets and equipment that will allow us to rapidly iterate solutions as we test and perfect our full-scale prototype, like:

• 3D printers (capable of printing carbon fiber composites)

• CNC machines

• Electrical and electronics lab equipment

• Computing and network resources

• A full woodshop and metal shop

As we continue testing, we’re also prioritizing building and maintaining relationships with manufacturing partners and early adopters. Firefighters, medics, security, prime contractors, and special operations personnel alike have expressed major interest in our product.

eVTOL stands for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing.

The key words are electric and vertical.

ELECTRIC

The reasons that electric propulsion is important are multifaceted but primarily because it represents a sustainable future. For the most part, General Aviation (GA) small aircraft burn leaded gasoline. So not only are we spewing out CO2 by the bucket load as we fly, we are also poisoning our environment with lead. 

Battery technology is at the inflection point of being a viable energy source for aviation in certain applications such as short-haul and eVTOL. Over time, battery technology should improve even more significantly. 

Here in the Pacific Northwest electrical energy is green because of our hydropower, and renewable energy across the nation is the fastest growing energy source, increasing 100% from 2000 to 2018. Green energy paired with modern battery storage creates a real opportunity for true sustainability.

eVTOL vehicles will create a compelling reason for people to switch to electric transportation

VERTICAL

Vertical (take-off and landing) is essential simply because it is not practical to put airport facilities where people live, play and work - they are simply not practical from a dirt perspective (meaning the land becomes more valuable than the airport can support). Over 300 airports have vanished in Washington State alone over the last 70 years. Because of this, General Aviation (small aircraft) is not a practical means of transportation. You can’t fly from the suburbs to the city for two reasons: 

1) The “city” airport changed their name to “international airport” and has been moved typically 20 or more miles from the city center, and 

2) The suburban airport has disappeared altogether. 

Thus, the only practical way to fly where most people need to travel require vastly smaller airports or vertiports.

The advantages and usefulness of Vertiports and VTOLs (tilt-rotors) were identified by the Federal Aviation Administration prior to 1991 to the extent that they provided an Advisory Circular on the subject of Vertiport Design. In this document they prescribe a landing area of 250 x 250 feet whereas the minimum practical landing area for small non-vertical (winged) aircraft is 2000 x 250 feet. (Commercial airline runways are between 8,000 and 13,000 feet long.)

With the advent of eVTOL the required landing area is shrinking even more and with a compact vehicle like the ZEVA Zero, the landing area can be as small as a cul-de-sac or back-yard. Precise computer navigation and control can allow safe operation in these small areas.

Electric and Vertical are a winning combination that allow practical air travel where you want to go!

-Stephen Tibbitts, CEO

ZEVA's own Stephen Tibbitts has been working as an advisor to the NASA Advanced Air Mobility Ecosystem Working Group for Airspace & Fleet Operations Management to provide input into the development of safe high-volume urban (and rural) flight operations.

A key driver of the success of the urban air mobility (UAM) movement will be the creation of modern air traffic management frameworks using autonomous systems to allow for aircraft like ZEVA's single-passenger eVTOL to safely fly in urban (and rural) environments with minimal human intervention. 

The FAA and NASA have worked with Deloitte Consulting to research and model what modern air traffic control might look like with the advent of eVTOL aircraft in dense urban settings. A recent study discussing some of their findings can be found here: link

Thank you again to all our investors that are helping to shape the future of air transportation with us!

-Team ZEVA

[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].

Hello!

As you might know, ZEVA AERO has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in ZEVA AERO be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.

This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.

Thanks for funding the future.

-StartEngine

With over 100 investors so far, ZEVA has passed $100,000 raised on StartEngine!

Thank you to everyone that has helped us reach this important milestone - and we are just getting started! 

We'd like to welcome all our new investors that share our vision of a future where sustainable personal aviation is a part of everyday life.

Keep spreading the word about our company - the more people we get involved, the faster we can reach our goals!

-Team ZEVA

We are pleased to announce that ZEVA Aero has been awarded a research grant from Washington State’s Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation (JACTI). The funds from the grant will be used to partner with Washington State University (WSU) to study aerodynamic configurations to optimize the thrust and controls of ZEVA’s single-passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with a further goal of using the findings to design a 2+ passenger eVTOL aircraft.

The research team is led by Professor Konstantin Matveev, PhD and Associate Professor John P. Swensen, PhD of the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. Dr. Matveev has extensive experience creating digital models and simulations for dynamic propeller systems, and will be leading a group of graduate and undergraduate students to create a simplified digital twin of ZEVA’s aircraft propulsion system.

ZEVA will provide WSU access to our 14,000 sq. ft. Flight Test Facility to investigate the ZEVA Zero full-scale prototype to develop relevant experiment test plans, and ZEVA will ultimately conduct physical testing to validate the simulation results. ZEVA engineers will be available for consulting throughout the duration of the project.

ZEVA will use the simulations and test data to optimize the configuration of the full-scale prototype and to create flight plans to incorporate into the currently semi-autonomous control system. Upon finalization of the ZEVA Zero, ZEVA plans to begin manufacturing in Washington State.

According to the JCATI request for proposals, funding is not meant for basic research projects and is generally given to research projects at academic institutions with a high probability of transitioning the technology to industry partners within 1-2 years. WSU has earmarked the JCATI funds for student salaries, equipment, laboratory fees, and materials. 

Dr. Matveev and team have already begun preliminary research and simulations- we look forward to a successful partnership with WSU!

Sincerely,

Fred Bills, COO

Today was our third day on the StartEngine platform and we've already raised over $50,000! 

We are incredibly thankful to everyone who has decided to own a piece of ZEVA and come on this journey with us. The goals we've set for ourselves are challenging, but we care deeply about what we're doing - we want to fundamentally transform the way people get around by bringing sustainable personal air transportation to everyone.  

Thank you also to everyone that has promoted our fundraise by spreading the word on social media - it makes a world of difference.

And for anyone that has not yet completed your investment, we encourage you to click on through to the end!

Sincerely,

Fred Bills, COO