In some movies or TV series, sometimes you will see places with such signs. In fact, this is the city's elevated heliport, and many people call it "rooftop apron".
They are usually set up on tall buildings in large cities, and in the event of an emergency, they can overcome the obstacles posed by the height of the building itself to a certain extent.
▲ Image from: Unsplash
But in the heart of Coventry, England, there is a special apron on the road with endless traffic - the urban airport designed by Urban Air Port - "Air-One".
▲Image courtesy of Urban Air Port
In order to ensure the safety of aircraft take-off and landing, the location of the general airport will be selected in a place far from the city, which is also to avoid the noise caused by the aircraft to cause trouble to residents. The smaller helicopter will actually make a lot of noise.
So why is "Air-One" maverick and built in the city center?
This is because the "Air-One" with a different location is not the main service object of the common large freighter or passenger aircraft, nor helicopters, but more and more drones and eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) in the future.
▲Image courtesy of Urban Air Port
Once upon a time, many science fiction movies always envisioned that people would rely on the air in the future. Today, technology and urban developments are making these visions a reality.
The current eVTOL industry has attracted a lot of attention, they can usually lift vertically, do not need to rely on the runway, and the electric mode does not produce too much noise and pollution. However, the lack of infrastructure has become a major obstacle to the development of air traffic.
Urban Air Port's "Air-One" is designed to remove restrictions on sustainable aerial mobility.
▲ Joby Aviation's eVTOL, image courtesy of the BBC
Made of steel and aluminum and wrapped in stretched translucent fabric, the city's airport covers an area of approximately 17,000 square feet (approximately 1,580 square meters).
The landing platform, which is about 14 meters wide at the top, has a "pop-up" design that can meet the take-off and landing of the aircraft when opened, and can also be charged, refueled, loaded with cargo or passengers when retracted. However, it doesn't stop there.
▲Image courtesy of Urban Air Port
In other places outside the tarmac, there will be passenger lounges, security screening areas, restaurants, shop-designated drone areas, etc. There is also a separate defence and logistics area responsible for disaster relief operations, airside mobile clinics, air evacuation centres, defence and logistics lines and other emergency services.
"Air-One" not only has a variety of functions in itself, but more importantly, the modular architecture allows it to become a multi-functional operation center that can be quickly deployed and better adapted to different environments.
▲Image courtesy of Urban Air Port
The "Air-One" air port in the heart of Coventry is powered by hydrogen fuel cells. In addition to reducing air pollution, it can also charge electric vehicles on the ground, which can not only cooperate with other modes of transportation, but also achieve zero-emission "seamless connection".
▲Image courtesy of Urban Air Port
Lightweight materials and modular design make it easy to transfer this flexible and changeable airport. It may appear on the road in the city center, on the platform of a high-rise building, or on the vast sea, cooperating with the ship. As such, it is also an ideal place for disaster emergency management.
▲Image courtesy of Urban Air Port
Urban-Air Port said flying cars carrying passengers will begin using "City Airport" in Coventry in 2025, while the first cargo drone will take off by the end of April 2022. The company also plans to open more than 200 air ports in cities around the world over the next five years.
▲Image courtesy of Urban Air Port
Expand the assembly is convenient and fast, adapt to a variety of environments, diverse functions, environmental protection and low pollution... Urban-Air Port's "Air-One" is the world's first fully operational eVTOL and drone urban airport, and is also an innovation hub, laying the foundation for the increasingly developed air traffic field in the future, and also providing more possibilities.