“…Embraer’s Eve has its sights set on Chicago for a possible urban air mobility (UAM) route. To test out this plan, the eVTOL developer is partnering with Blade Air Mobility to offer helicopter flights to Chicago commuters, demonstrating what an air taxi service could look like in the future.

The companies plan to conduct test flights over three weeks starting on Sept. 14. Seats can be booked on Blade’s website for weekday morning and afternoon flights.

Using helicopters powered by Blade as a substitute for eVTOL aircraft, passengers will be transported from Vertiport Chicago, an existing downtown heliport, to two helistops — the Schaumburg Municipal Helistop northwest of Chicago and the Tinley Park Helistop southwest of the city.

Through the simulation, the companies aim to study operations, ground services, passenger journeys and eVTOL operator needs, gleaning information on the infrastructure and ecosystem that the city of Chicago would need in order to launch UAM in the region…”