Category: News

WARREN New Jersey, March 11, 2024 – PS&S Architecture and Engineering, PC, (PS&S) announced today that the firm has engaged with VARON, an advanced air mobility system operating firm, which is currently developing all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aerial tourism for the burgeoning air mobility market in Latin America. VARON, based in Florida and Colombia, will provide eVTOL services for aerial tourism in and around the Caribbean city of Cartegena in Colombia. New services to be generated include adventure rides, sightseeing, visits to natural parks, airport shuttles, and transportation between islands, beaches, and attraction locations.

 

This association will furnish VARON with a collaborative framework utilizing the resources of PS&S’s multi-disciplined, integrated design team of experienced architects, engineers, and environmental scientists for the purpose of offering advisement, planning, conceptual design, site and building design, and other related services for VARON’s vertiport requirements. Their vertiports are an integral part of VARON’s air mobility operational services.

 

VARON’s first vertiport, set in the outskirts of Cartagena, has been designed in collaboration with PS&S. It offers convenient roadway access and parking, with direct access to the terminal, which contains a passenger reception and exhibit area, monitored access to the flight line, and stairs leading up to the rooftop observation deck. The adjacent hangar will house up to four eVTOL aircraft and has been designed for streamlined eVTOL ground operations; the flight control center above will have unrestricted visibility to all flights, providing safe and secure tourist flight operations. This VARON vertiport design takes into first consideration eVTOL operation practicality and cost. More details can be seen here: https://www.varon.aero/implementation .

 

PS&S, founded in 1962, created their Urban Air Mobility Task Force (UAM/TF) in May 2019 initially to pursue design opportunities within the aerial transport industry. Led by PS&S CEO John Sartor, the task force is managed by architects Ted Osborne and Jennifer Ganley, together with a multi-disciplined engineering staff, and by architect, pilot, and former flight instructor Charles Clauser, who brings years of aviation knowledge, experience, and insights to the team.

 

In addition to a staff comprised of architects, interior designers, and the engineering disciplines of civil, survey, structural, mechanical, plumbing, fire protection, and electrical personnel, the firm maintains strong working relationships with a variety of consultants in the air mobility space, including aerial infrastructure, heliport design, acoustical engineering, cost estimating, preconstruction services, and related infrastructure specialties.

 

“We are pleased to work with VARON as they have demonstrated a leadership position in offering advanced air mobility eco-system solutions that provide affordable and community-friendly transportation services,” said Sartor. “Our design philosophy and capabilities complement VARON’s commitment to increasing economic development around its vertiports.”

 

According to Felipe Varon, founder and Chief Executive Officer at VARON: “PS&S’ fully integrated design process provides VARON with vertiport solutions that meet our stringent aesthetic, functional and technical challenges. PS&S develops efficient, attractive, sustainable, and cost-effective architecture that meets the needs and vision of our air mobility flight operations and clients. Their proven success and their understanding of transit flow of people and intermodal vehicles was a major selection process for our business as we continue to grow our world-class network of partners to provide the highest level of safety and efficiency for our passengers.”

 

VARON is a transformative aerospace company. Our operating vision is to offer autonomous eVTOL (electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) flight operations for urban and regional mobility, providing tourism services initially and other multiple markets in the future. “We see advanced air mobility in its entirety as a new form of mobility infrastructure, one that has potential for disruption”, said Varon.

 

Contacts

H. Ted Osborne, AIA, EVP, PS&S

Mobile: (+1) 908.295.6225

htosborne@psands.com

www.psands.com

 

Felipe Varon, CEO, VARON

Mobile: (+57) 313.658.0294

varon.felipe@varon.aero

www.varon.aero

Bogota, Colombia – VARON exhibited in Bogota Smart Cities Expo 2023 to share the company’s vision and first implementation plans with Colombian stakeholders. VARON realizes the importance of public acceptance and thus in taking into consideration all stakeholders related to its first implementation plans. This is particularly true for the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority, which was present through several of its members who visited VARON’s booth at the expo and talked about the state of regulation readiness to allow the initiation of its eVTOL aircraft flights within the cooperation framework already established with the company.

 

Stakeholders, partners, investors and the community in general were present during the three-day expo and attentively listened to a presentation given by VARON’s Founder and CEO Felipe Varon, in which he provided a general overview of the company’s latest design releases pertaining eVTOL aircraft operation, its newest vertiport designs and airspace architecture.

 

VARON continues in its efforts to cooperate with the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority, its commercial partners and other authorities in its path for implementation of its Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operations.

 

VARON is a disruptive mobility infrastructure company, implementing Advanced Air Mobility operations to provide potentially disruptive transportation services. For more information visit www.varon.aero.  Contact:  info@varon.aero

Miami, FL – VARON announces it has completely renewed its corporate image as part of its rebranding process, which took place during most of 2023 and finalized in 2024. The company understands the need to identify with the most imminent use case of its advanced air mobility operations, which is in tourism using eVTOL aircraft that are becoming available today, while at the same time projecting its view for future development into other novel air mobility markets, through a fresh, modern and relatable image.

VARON has also launched its completely new website with new content at www.varon.aero, with a focused and clearer description of the company’s first implementation and future operations.

The company has evolved its brand to better communicate the direction it is headed, with a new name, image and website that truly transmit its vision and potential.

VARON is a disruptive mobility infrastructure company, implementing advanced air mobility operations to provide potentially disruptive transportation services. www.varon.aero.  Contact:  info@varon.aero

Miami, FL – Varon Vehicles Corporation announces it has rebranded to VARON.

The company understands that the problem it is solving is urban, suburban and regional in nature and that due to its potential for disruption, it must be a brand capable of becoming an incumbent name. The company maintains its renowned logo form, highly recognized within the nascent advanced air mobility industry (AAM), maintaining the same look and identity; but now with an impacting view of its shorter name below it for easier recognition. The company has also changed its website address to www.varon.aero, appropriately placing it in an aerial transportation services sector while maintaining its urban, suburban and regional perspective which is of such high importance.

The company has evolved its brand to better communicate the direction it is headed, with a name and website address that truly transmit its vision and potential. Varon is a disruptive mobility infrastructure company.

It is implementing Urban Air Mobility with the next generation of electric aircraft (eVTOLs) to provide potentially disruptive transportation services. www.varon.aero. Contact info@varon.aero

Tel Aviv, Israel, November 8^th, 2021. Varon Vehicles and Flapz announce the signature of an MoU to actively collaborate in promoting access of passengers, guests and users to their Urban Air Mobility services throughout different markets. Varon Vehicles is developing a new form of mobility infrastructure composed of company vertiports with virtual lanes over the low altitude city skies connecting them, and fleets of their electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) next generation aircraft servicing between them. This new form of mobility infrastructure will not have an associated cost per-mile, making it potentially disruptive, especially in Latin America where the lack of proper mobility infrastructure is prevalent, hampering many aspects of economic development.

Colombian – Israeli startup Flapz is Latin America’s fastest-growing private aviation marketplace connecting passengers with dozens of regional certified operators. Thanks to a disruptive technology that enables near-live bookings, subscribers can search, compare, and book flights on more than 250 aircraft (from helicopters to business jets), as well as empty legs and shared seats, thus enabling access to a fast-growing base of passengers who experience private flying.

“Our company will be providing transportation services in diverse markets, including logistics, medical, government and others. We’re directing our attention first to the tourism market which offers a tremendous potential in Latin America and for which we already have technologies and aircraft available to begin implementation of our first operations”, says Felipe Varon, CEO and Founder of Varon Vehicles. “We’re announcing our collaboration with Flapz as an exciting next step in our outreach to customers as we move forward with implementation of services in Colombia. Flapz has a fresh and innovative approach to aviation services and together we will work on drawing users for our upcoming services.”

“The way we move is changing” says Ionatan Galeano, cofounder and CEO of Flapz. “Technology has delivered the opportunity to completely improve how transportation infrastructure is embedded in our cities and this is fascinating. Being able to collaborate with Varon Vehicles to disrupt how entire communities connect, with Flapz serving as a one-stop marketplace to access the world of Urban Air Mobility, will be one of our main objectives in moving forward on our quest to transform private aviation in Latin America.”

Flapz will play an instrumental role in connecting Varon Vehicles’ Urban Air Mobility ecosystem with its strategic group of users, who are actively involved in private aviation and with the key aspects surrounding the experience, time-efficiency, and the overall added value of the eVTOL industry. Furthermore, Flapz will serve as an active marketplace in Latin America for the network ran by Varon Vehicles, offering seats for initial flights and leading the overall commercialization process from operation start.

This partnership is focused on establishing the “15-minute city” concept in the Latin American political, social, and economic agenda, seeking to revolutionize how communities socialize while improving quality of life in the process and fostering socio-economic development. The possibility of a multimodal transportation infrastructure, powered by Varon Vehicle’s green eVTOL aircraft, has the potential to redefine how urban planning is executed in the region.

Varon Vehicles Corporation is a disruptive mobility infrastructure company. It is implementing Urban Air Mobility with the new generation of electric aviation (eVTOLs) to provide radically new urban transportation services. www.varonvehicles.com

Flapz is revolutionizing the access and digital transformation of Latin America’s private aviation ecosystem. With a disruptive technology-led business model, its marketplace connects, in almost real-time, passengers with dozens of certified regional operators for a safe and seamless booking & flying experience. With more than 250 certified aircraft available in its marketplace across Latin America, the fast-growing startup with offices in Colombia, Chile, and Israel, has committed to improve access and overall end-to-end experience of the private air industry in the continent, while actively setting best practices alongside authorities, operators, and passengers. For more, please visit: https://www.flapz.app/

To bridge the lack of efficient mobility infrastructure in Urban cities, Adriana Varon, CFO and Co-founder of Varon Vehicles Corporation, is accompanying her visionary brother Felipe Varon to bring a transformation in the present scenario and building a promising future for Urban Air Mobility (UAM). Living in Bogota, she regularly gets trapped in worse traffic congestions and loses ample time in traffic. She believes that Varon Vehicles Corporation will bring forth ground-breaking socio-economic development with excellent technologies in urban aviation and advanced air mobility.

She shares, “Approximately five years ago, I decided to come on board with this dream because I strongly believe that it only takes one visionary who is completely convinced he can change the world in order for the world to change.”

Hopping onto the New Journey

Before joining forces with Felipe, she gained 10+ years of experience working at the Colombian and international stock market. Not only did she serve the client’s needs directly and render personalized solutions, but she also took the onus of managing and structuring all the investment portfolios. She adds, “In these years, I had the opportunity to work not only with amazing coworkers but learned that each person is a world in itself and that in the investment world, there’s no such thing as one solution fits all.”

Additionally, she has 7+ years of profound experience in high military tech and international commerce, where they mainly catered to humanitarian projects.

Working in different workplaces, her success definition evolved. She also wanted to live her life having the essence align with her daily decisions so that she could continue sleeping with a clear conscience. Now she also believes that her success also meant contributing to build a better society ahead. Although Adriana loved her job, she felt the call to do something else.

She says, “I realized that it was time to witness the call to change, to seek new challenges and continue growing as much as I could. I realized I had enough experience in the financial world to become Varon Vehicle’s CFO and learn and face all the challenges this responsibility brings.” At that moment, she got ready to join her brother’s company and kick-start this exciting journey.

The Rise of Flexible-functioning Workplaces

Challenges are part and parcel of life. Adriana opines in the fact that every challenge on the success path helps in unleashing the true potential and strength that resides inside an individual.

Explaining her past challenging moments, she says, “When I was working as a Wealth Advisor & Portfolio Advisor in the international markets, Colombia and the world faced a different economic crisis that affected markets directly; for example, the financial crisis of 2008. Those moments taught me valuable lessons, like besides doing all you can to try to avoid big losses in the portfolio, always speak the truth to your clients and customers.”

“Just like 2008, 2020 and 2021 also brought numerous noteworthy lessons to light. The flexible-functioning revolution has commenced, and all companies need to pivot towards this new reality to survive in this competitive environment.”

Solving Urban Mobility problems with Varon Vehicles Corporation

Established in 2016, Varon Vehicles Corporation came into being as a US company striving hard to develop a new type of mobility infrastructure without any physical construction per mile. Inclined towards faster, greener, and safer urban and suburban transportation services, they are offering services to a plethora of customers such as logistics companies, tourism companies, hospitals, emergency responders, and transportation network companies (TNC’s) for services like air taxis.

Breaking the traditional paradigms 

Maintaining a culture of integrity and innovation in the company is crucial to boost the growth of a new idea. Adriana believes that the first thing to ensure this culture is to select a solid team by analyzing their intellectual capabilities, morals, and character. “It is important to look beyond professional capabilities and see how they behave not only in their jobs but in their personal life.”

She adds, “We have to permeate the culture we want our company to live by, and one of the most important ways to do it is by example, you cannot expect your team to live by values you don’t believe or act by.”

Together, the whole team is shaping the Urban Air Mobility concept into reality. The company is evolving the industry, creating a new way for people to connect, always hand in hand with the regulatory entities, and listening to people’s needs.

Being a woman in the capricious industry, backing up a nascent idea is in itself a big achievement, and Adriana believes that anyone with the right potential and knowledge can rise and shine to mark its unique identity in any market.

She mentions that a good leader is defined by the person’s capabilities, one’s character, and determination, one’s willingness to run the extra mile for chasing dreams while helping others become the best version of themselves. She states, “It doesn’t matter where life puts you, It only matters where you want to go. Don’t let anyone tell you that because you are a woman, you cannot do it and don’t believe that because you are a woman, you are entitled to anything; women have come a long way and still have work to do in order to have real professional equality. But equality also means not having preferences because you are a man or a woman, rather becoming the best option because of who you are and what professional skills you have.”

Backing up the innovative idea

Being the Economist with a PGDip in Finance and a MIT Certificate on Urban Mobility Disruptions to create better cities, Adriana handles the responsibilities of the CFO of the company diligently. Also, being the co-founder of the company, she backs up Felipe Varon, the CEO, in different aspects and supports the rest of the team in making smart decisions and devising innovative plans.

The COVID-19 pandemic came with its own set of challenges, but the team was able to evolve with the restrictions. The whole team embraced the shift to virtual meetings and adapted to new circumstances to keep climbing the ladder of success.

Visionary future plans

The company is working on making the UAM concept a reality and working to have a real operational case in some time. At the moment, they are creating Varon Vehicles Colombia and expect to launch their second seed round soon. Adriana adds, “We are working very hard on having all the structure ready for investors to join in. In 2020 we launched our Skyscraper 2020 company summit (www.varonvehicles.com/skyscraper2020), and this July, we will be starting to host our Think Tanks 2021. We also launched our UAM Names Challenge, where we are inviting everyone who wants to come and propose the new names for key elements of Urban Air Mobility for which names have not yet been widely adopted (www.varonvehicles.com/names-challenge).”

Urban Air Mobility – Evolving Regulation Analyst Note BIS Research – September 2021

Open Here

Varon Vehicles and D3 Technologies have signed an MoU stating that D3 Technologies will be a partner in Varon

SUNNYVALE, Calif.– Aug. 17, 2021 — Varon Vehicles and Real-Time Innovations (RTI), the largest software framework company for autonomous systems, announce they will be collaborating to integrate RTI’s software connectivity framework into Varon Vehicles’ Traffic Management Systems (TMS). Varon Vehicles is developing “Infrastructure Networks” which are their vertiports with virtual, connected aerial lanes and fleets of their urban electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) next generation aircraft servicing between them. Varon Vehicles will provide diverse transportation services in different markets in pressing need of connection with these new forms of mobility infrastructure, eliminating the need for per-mile construction.

RTI Connext® DDS enables the future of UAM by supplying the robust software connectivity framework for all UAM vehicle sensors and systems to communicate vehicle intelligence in milliseconds. Connext underpins vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications with security and resilience, while enabling the vehicle management infrastructure to scale according to demand, all while optimizing control and efficiency. Additionally, Connext offers commercial RTCA DO-178C and EUROCAE ED-12C DAL A certification evidence, accelerating the path to UAM safety certification and airworthiness.

“We are proud to work with RTI as we plan for implementation of our operations and progress with the integration of the components required in our Infrastructure Networks. RTI Connext delivers the communication and data fusion capabilities necessary to enable high-end reliability and safety of all the systems we need to bring together,” says Felipe Varon, CEO and Founder. “Data management robustness, reliability, and real-time performance are critical in the highly automated environments required in our Infrastructure Networks.”

“Urban air mobility platforms and ground infrastructure systems have unique requirements and face complex challenges as they move towards wide-spread, commercial deployment,” said Chip Downing, Senior Market Development Director, A&D at RTI. “Futuristic transport systems like these provide the industry with safe, convenient options. We are pleased to work with Varon Vehicles as they drive UAM innovation and build a powerful infrastructure system for UAM in Latin America.”

Field proven in over 1,700 design wins, including over 250 autonomous systems, RTI Connext serves as the connectivity framework for both autonomous air and ground support systems. With a rich ecosystem of avionics and autonomous system partners, RTI enables rapid prototyping, accelerated development and deployment cycles, and reduced program risk.

 

About Varon Vehicles

Varon Vehicles Corporation is a disruptive mobility infrastructure company. It is implementing Urban Air Mobility with the new generation of electric aviation (eVTOLs) to provide radically new urban transportation services. www.varonvehicles.com. Contact Felipe Varon, varon.felipe@varonvehicles.com.

 

About RTI

Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is the largest software framework company for autonomous systems. RTI Connext is the world’s leading architecture for developing intelligent distributed systems. Uniquely, Connext shares data directly, connecting AI algorithms to real-time networks of devices to build autonomous systems.

RTI is the best in the world at ensuring our customers’ success in deploying production systems. With over 1,700 designs, RTI software runs over 250 autonomous vehicle programs, controls the largest power plants in North America, coordinates combat management on U.S. Navy ships, drives a new generation of medical robotics, enables flying cars, and provides 24/7 intelligence for hospital and emergency medicine. RTI runs a smarter world.

RTI is the leading vendor of products compliant with the Object Management Group® (OMG®) Data Distribution Service™ (DDS) standard. RTI is privately held and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with regional offices in Colorado, Spain and Singapore.

RTI Media Contacts:

Madeline Kalicka

Karbo Communications for RTI

240-427-8961

RTI@karbocom.com

Cameron Emery

Director of Corporate Communications, RTI

cameron@rti.com

SAN RAMON, Calif. – June 17, 2021 – GE Digital has announced the signing of a memo of understanding  to collaborate with Varon Vehicles Corporation on the development of a solution for airspace efficiency, safety, and predictive maintenance. This partnership builds on GE Digital’s expertise in analytics software to produce a solution to facilitate better routing operations in Latin America, starting in Colombia.

Varon Vehicles is developing Urban Air Mobility, an innovative transportation system with new enabling technologies using currently untapped airspaces in a confined and safe way. It consists of a series of Vertiports connected to each other via well-defined low altitude virtual lanes through which the company’s air vehicles will fly, without adding a burden on Air Traffic Control or mixing with traditional aviation. Varon Vehicles’ plan is to place their Vertiports both inside and outside existing urban structures to alleviate the pressure for city growth. They will provide transportation services to the logistics, tourism and medical markets and customers like governments and ride hailing companies for air taxi services, all without the need for physical construction. This project will initially target the cargo transportation and tourism markets.

“With plans for introduction of Urban Air Mobility operations in major cities, digital tools and systems will be needed to connect and monitor electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) in confined and controlled airspaces,” said Felipe Varon, CEO and Founder of Varon Vehicles Corporation.

The collaborative solution will leverage Varon Vehicles’ new Urban Air Mobility system to create a connected ecosystem that addresses operational efficiencies while ensuring safe operations of this new form of urban and sub-urban aviation.

Urban Air Mobility requires a new set of measurements and flight profiles as these new aircraft increase their non-conventional operations in cities. Ensuring the safety for passengers, citizens and traditional aviation will be key for the adequate deployment and operation of this new ecosystem. Sustainability and life cycle tracking for batteries and components will be paramount. Connecting to users and passengers in a proactive way, will ensure and allow the system to be used in a safe and easy way, understanding what to expect on the route and flight.

“Our collaboration with a company like GE Digital is of utmost importance as we develop our new concept for aviation, in many aspects from the ground up,” Varon continued. “Being able to leverage GE’s uncontested experience in aviation is of tremendous value, and we will work together to bring efficiency to our operations to make them robust, reliable and safe.”

“Varon Vehicles is a great example of moving the industry forward as we all return to flight,” said Andrew Coleman, General Manager of GE Digital’s Aviation Software business. “Sustainability is in their DNA with their focus on electric vehicles and we look forward to working with them on this ambitious project.”

More information on GE Digital Aviation Software can be found here.

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About GE Digital
GE Digital transforms how our customers solve their toughest challenges by putting industrial data to work. Our mission is to bring simplicity, speed, and scale to digital transformation activities, with industrial software that delivers breakthrough business outcomes. GE Digital’s product portfolio – including grid optimization and analytics, asset and operations performance management, and manufacturing operations and automation – helps industrial companies in the utility, power generation, oil & gas, aviation, and manufacturing sectors change the way industry works. For more information, visit www.ge.com/digital.

 

About Varon Vehicles

Varon Vehicles is a disruptive mobility infrastructure company. It is implementing Urban Air Mobility with the new generation of electric aviation (eVTOLs) to provide radically new urban transportation services. www.varonvehicles.com.

 

Media contacts:

Rachael Van Reen

GE Digital

rachael.vanreen@ge.com

 

Felipe Varon

Varon Vehicles Corporation

varon.felipe@varonvehicles.com

+57-313-658-0294