Air taxis make up most of the hype surrounding eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles) despite their long road to market, high upfront costs, and myriad regulatory hurdles. Ryse Aero Technologiesan Ohio-based start-up aircraft construction company that is similar to flying all-terrain vehicles, believes that eVTOL technology could be better leveraged in a near-term market.
The company, founded in April 2021, recently open reservations for its Recon ultralight aircraft: a one-seat eVTOL with land and water takeoff and landing capabilities and a maximum altitude of 400 feet. It is powered by six independent motors, each with removable and rechargeable batteries.
“The idea was to make something extremely safe, extremely reliable that anyone could fly,” Ryse CEO Mick Kowitz told TechCrunch, noting that the 286-pound Recon is classified as an ultralight aircraft. That means it’s designed for single-occupancy use, can’t fly over congested areas, and doesn’t carry heavy cargo.
It also means that the Federal Aviation Administration does not stipulate a fixed number of training hours required, so really, anyone could fly one.
“We give about an hour to two hours of training and you’re running it,” Kowitz said.
Ryse has built four prototypes so far, as well as some pre-production vehicles that it is currently testing with farmers. The startup sees many potential use cases for the aircraft — search and rescue, parks and recreation, oil and gas drilling — but Ryse’s go-to-market strategy targets the agricultural industry in the United States.
“We’re really leaning towards reducing crop compaction, reducing soil compaction, possibly getting to your fields in planting season,” Kowitz said. “It is possible that you have a pest in the field and the soil is very wet, but you still have to go outside. What farmers do is drive as far as they can in their truck or ATV, sometimes walking two or three miles to where the problem is. The Recon can get them there pretty quickly without a lot of compaction.”
Soil compaction, by the way, is caused by putting weight on the soil through foot traffic, trampling by livestock, cars, or other farm machinery. This compresses the pores that would otherwise carry water or air, interfering with root growth and causing oxygen deficiencies.
In addition to avoiding soil compaction, Kowitz says Recon can save farmers, ranchers and vineyard owners an even more precious commodity: their time. The Recon has enough battery capacity to fly 10 miles out and 10 miles back, which equates to about 25 minutes of gaming at a top speed of 63 miles per hour.
Image Credits: Ryse Aero Technologies
“Your time is valuable, and in the agricultural world, a lot of people don’t necessarily value their time because it’s a commodity they think they have enough of,” Kowitz said. “In their farming life, they have also lived with the idea that time is what you spend walking to that field, but if you can get places and save an hour, two hours a day, what value is that to you?”
How about $150,000? That’s what the Recon will look for once it’s on the market. And that may seem like a penny to an urbanite like you or me, but in the agricultural world, that’s nothing, at least according to Kowitz. A tractor alone could cost around $500,000, and many farms purchase more than one.
While it’s still too early to know for sure how long a Recon could last in the field, Kowitz said Ryse has done vibration and sensor and environmental tests, and believes the aircraft likely has a useful life of eight to 10 years.
There is already demand for the Recon. Kowitz said Ryse has already earmarked about $15 million in future booking revenue, which means 100 potential customers have signed up to set a delivery date.
The only possible issue the company faces is whether its aircraft can actually be used for commercial operations. The FAA’s decision on ultralight aircraft, part 103, stipulates that the vehicle must be used for recreational or sporting purposes only. Ryse said there are many operators using this type of aircraft to improve their business operations without violating the rule, and the company has had discussions with the FAA about its “no worries” use case. The FAA did not comment specifically on Ryse, but the agency told TechCrunch that it evaluates each on a case-by-case basis.
Ryse shouldn’t worry too much about that, as the company is building a production facility and aims to produce 10 vehicles per month through 2023, with deliveries beginning at the end of the year. The company has raised $5.5 million and hopes to raise another $25 million for its Series B round to help it ramp production to 100 units per month by next year through 2025.
