Jump Aero To Develop an Emergency Medical Service eVTOL Aircraft
By: Charles Alcock
Jump Aero today announced plans to develop a new electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft specifically for emergency medical service first responders. The California-based startup is seeking input from prospective users, investors, and partners to determine specifications for the aircraft.
Its all-electric aircraft is expected to fly at speeds of up to 200 mph and be able to land on a suburban street. The payload and dimensions of the eVTOL have yet to be determined, and no images of the envisioned design have yet been released.
Jump Aero was formed by CEO Carl Dietrich, who previously founded Terrafugia, which is developing a flying car called the Transition and the TF-2 eVTOL. He left the company in April 2019 after selling it to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
Dietrich told AIN that he expects the as-yet-unnamed aircraft to supplement the role of ground-based EMS vehicles, rather than replacing helicopters. “This will fill a new role for an aircraft [in EMS operations], providing quick response to advanced life support calls that are currently filled by ambulances and rescue trucks,” he explained. The new company claims its aircraft will save lives by cutting in half the time it takes first responders to reach patients.
Jump Aero is backed by some undisclosed private investors and is seeking further capital. Dietrich is the president and chief designer for the company, for which co-founders also include Jeff Myjak (head of fabrication), who is president of composite boat builder Still Water Design; and Anna Dietrich, who was formerly COO and CFO with Terrafugia and is now co-executive director of the newly formed Community Air Mobility Initiative. The new company’s advisory board includes Michael Dyment, founder and managing director of Nexa Capital Partners, and TJ Kennedy, co-founder of the Public Safety Network, which supports first responders.