Skyportz urges Australia to create an air taxi R&D sandbox

Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown used Global Drone 2026 on the Gold Coast to call for a national research and development sandbox for eVTOLs and vertiport infrastructure. The appeal comes as Hong Kong, the U.S. and Florida move ahead with dedicated test programs and Australia still has no purpose-built vertiport.

Why it matters: - Australia has policy support for advanced air mobility, but no purpose-built vertiport has been built yet. - A national sandbox could give Australian developers a place to test aircraft and infrastructure under regulator supervision. - Without that testing environment, Skyportz says Australian innovation risks moving offshore while other markets build the industry first.

What happened: - Clem Newton-Brown, CEO of Skyportz, called on Australian governments to establish an industry-wide research and development hub for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft at Global Drone 2026 on the Gold Coast on November 11, 2026. - Newton-Brown said the industry needs more than policy statements and press releases. - Global Drone 2026 is being held from November 11 to 13 at Cbus Super Stadium.

The details: - Several Australian states have published policy documents backing advanced air mobility. - The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has issued vertiport design guidance. - Skyportz said the company developed its vertipad patent, Aeroberm, with support from the Australian Government and Swinburne University of Technology. - Newton-Brown said Aeroberm is an Australian invention that Skyportz wants to make a global safety standard for new urban vertiports. - Skyportz said there is currently nowhere in Australia to test Aeroberm with the aircraft it was designed to support. - Skyportz plans to launch Aeroberm at the Avalon Australian International Airshow in February 2027. - Skyportz said it has registered interest and letters of intent from partners in the United States, India, China and the Middle East. - The company says Aeroberm is its patented or patent-pending modular vertipad system built on a fractal panel surface designed to dissipate rotor downwash and outwash. - Multiple patent applications have been filed internationally.

Between the lines: - Hong Kong, the U.S. and Florida are using sandbox-style programs to let industry test eVTOL operations in real conditions. - Hong Kong’s Low-altitude Economy Regulatory Sandbox selected 38 pilot projects in its first batch. - Sandbox X launched in November 2025, drew more than 100 applications and has selected 38 projects so far. - Sandbox X includes a dedicated stream for eVTOLs and other unconventional passenger aircraft. - In March 2026, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration selected eight projects across 26 states for the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. - Florida’s statewide project was one of those eight selections. - In April 2026, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 1093, allowing the Florida Department of Transportation to fund up to 100% of vertiport projects not supported by federal funding. - Swinburne University presented CFD research on the Aeroberm concept at Vertical Flight Society Forum 82 in Florida in May 2026. - That research indicated the fractal surface dissipates rotor downwash and outwash energy faster than flat or grated surfaces. - Early follow-up modelling by Munich Aeroacoustics suggests the Aeroberm vertipad could reduce noise around a landing site. - The push for a sandbox reflects a broader race to shape the low-altitude economy before standards and infrastructure harden elsewhere.

What's next: - Newton-Brown said the first Australian state to commit to building vertiport infrastructure could attract the industry. - Skyportz will use the Avalon airshow launch to showcase Aeroberm to potential partners and investors. - The company wants practical test facilities where emerging technologies can be refined with aircraft, regulators and infrastructure operators involved.

The bottom line: - Australia has some of the policy pieces in place, but Skyportz says it now needs a real-world testbed if it wants a share of the air taxi market.