Odys Aviation's mission is clear. It seeks to cut door-to-door travel times in half with its vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL). The company highlights that its range covers 65% of domestic air routes. With these prospects in mind, Simple Flying recently caught up with the firm's CEO and co-founder, James Dorris, to learn more about the overall program.
The right backing
There is plenty of expertise behind the initiative. Notably, Dorris has been concentrating on transport sustainability and energy systems his whole life. He has covered all angles from electric cars to fusion energy and grid-scale batteries to hyperloops. He also has a Ph.D. from MIT in fusion energy sciences.
Odys’ VTOL aircraft is being designed to transport nine passengers at a maximum speed of 345 mph (555 km/h) and a range of 1,000 mi (1,609 km). So, this experience will undoubtedly prove to be valuable.
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Standout features
Sumit Singh: What is the main goal of Odys Aviation?
James Dorris: Odys Aviation is focused on making the world’s busiest travel corridors, including intra-California, the Northeast US corridor, intra-Europe, South Korea, and Japan, much more efficient. This means using zero CO2 and cutting the door-to-door travel time in half.
Our 1,000-mile range hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft connects city helipads and local airports, picking passengers up much closer to where they start and taking them much closer to their actual destination. No more dealing with congested airports for these short trips.
SS: How do you stand out compared to other VTOL programs?
JD: Odys is different from most other VTOL programs in three main ways: First, we focus on much longer routes where air travel demand already exists, and the passenger experience isn’t great. Second, we use a hybrid-electric propulsion system that uses zero-CO2 on routes less than 200 miles and reduces CO2 by 76% vs. regional jets on an LA to SF type route.
Finally, the way we take off vertically is different. We don’t tilt wings or rotors and instead use a high-lift flap system to vector thrust. This approach uses mechanisms that regulators are already comfortable with and results in high cruise efficiency once the flaps stow.
Broader benefits
SS: How will projects such as yours shape the airport experience over the next decade?
JD: Odys delivers benefits to airlines, travelers, and airports. Today, many large airports are constrained or nearing capacity, especially during peak periods. This can be from takeoff/landing slots, noise restrictions, ground traffic flows, and gate access. Also, in the future, we expect CO2 constraints. This means limited growth for airlines and airports and congestion for travelers.
Over the next decade, we believe feeder networks will transition from using regional jets to regional VTOL aircraft - landing at airport hubs in volume and without interfering with large aircraft operations. This enables airline growth by repurposing regional feeder slots into additive high-margin long-haul flights.
Ultimately, Odys is building a future where travelers fly point-to-point regional routes, city-center to city-center, skipping major airport hubs and cutting travel time in half. Imagine flying from the existing Manhattan 34th St helipad directly to a vertiport in downtown Washington DC - a truly hassle-free experience at economy plus prices.
SS: What time savings are to be had with Odys?
JD: Last month I flew from London to Amsterdam. It was 42 minutes wheels up to wheels down and 4 hours door-to-door, and that was using London City Airport. By connecting city centers via helipads and future vertiports, we can easily cut door-to-door travel time in half on these busy routes.
SS: And what about the sustainability benefits?
JD: Continuing with the London to Amsterdam example, that’s approximately 230 miles, including departure and approach patterns. Our aircraft would reduce the CO2 on that flight by 91% relative to the regional jet that I flew. As battery technology improves, our electric range will increase from 200 miles at launch to 265 miles by 2030, and this same flight becomes zero-CO2.
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Adapting well
SS: How has the pandemic shaped operations?
JD: We’ve built our team locally in Long Beach to optimize for fast communication and rapid build/test iterations - it’s very difficult to develop complex hardware with a purely remote team. When we transitioned to “office-optional” during a surge of local COVID cases, our team found a good balance between in-office and remote - there’s nothing more exciting and fulfilling than being part of a team that’s bringing concepts to life in the lab and in flight testing.
SS: What is the prime focus for the second half of the year?
JD: We’ve previously announced our next prototype with an 18-foot wingspan, and our team is heads-down focused on engineering and execution. We’ll receive the first fuselage later this month, and the rest of the summer will be for aircraft assembly and integration. By fall, we’ll be ground testing and maiden flight. I continue to be in awe of what our team is capable of. They’re an amazing and humble group of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with.
SS: Is there anything else you’d like to highlight about the program?
JD: Globally, the startup world is undergoing a period of strong headwinds, and we expect the hottest and most hyped segments will see a good deal of bloodletting. Odys has been fortunate to attract passionate and dedicated investors - we closed our seed funding last fall and expanded our total funding in the last three months. We’re positioned well to take advantage of hiring incredible talent from competitors should they start to stumble and have the time we need to hit our milestones and emerge from this challenging period stronger than ever.
What are your thoughts about Odys Aviation's plans for its VTOL aircraft? What do you make of the overall VTOL opportunities within the aviation industry? Let us know what you think of the company and its initiatives in the comment section.