At the invitation of NASA, Helicopter Association International (HAI) will participate in a two-day interoperability simulation tabletop exercise Jun. 14–15 at the Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California. The event will feature the inclusion of urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft into air traffic management (ATM) and air traffic control (ATC) planning.

Representing HAI and the vertical aviation industry at the exercise will be HAI Board Member Randy Rowles, owner of Helicopter Institute in Fort Worth, Texas, and Chuck Street, executive director of the Los Angeles (California) Area Helicopter Operators Association.

“The goal of this tabletop exercise is to obtain feedback on ATC–pilot communication procedures and information requirements developed by NASA in a joint effort with Joby Aviation and other subject matter experts for UAM operations in the Dallas–Fort Worth area,” says Rania W. Ghatas, human/machine systems research engineer, Crew Systems and Aviation Operations Branch, at the NASA Langley Research Center. “We’re in the developing and planning stages of a human-in-the-loop simulation with Joby called the ATM Interoperability Simulation (AIS), scheduled for September 2023.

“Several use cases, ranging from UAM operations on the periphery of Class Bravo airports to those flying parallel to approaches and departures in Class Bravo, have been developed,” Ghatas adds. “These use cases will be simulated and tested during the AIS activity in September.”

“We are grateful for NASA’s invitation to participate in this exercise,” says James Viola, president and CEO of HAI. “Helicopters have been conducting missions in the airspace proposed for UAM flight since the earliest days of vertical flight. With decades of experience, we can offer unique insight into congested airspace operations. I also offer my appreciation to Randy and Chuck for making themselves available to contribute the perspectives of our industry to integrating UAM operations into controlled airspace.”

HAI is the professional trade association for the global helicopter industry and represents more than 1,100 companies and over 16,000 industry professionals in more than 65 countries. Each year, HAI members safely operate more than 3,700 helicopters and remotely piloted aircraft approximately 2.9 million hours. HAI is dedicated to the promotion of the helicopter as a safe, effective business tool that provides unique advantages to society and to the advancement of the international vertical aviation community.