The Vertical Flight Society announced special access to the virtual exhibit hall at its 77th Annual Forum and Technology Display. Forum 77, held online this year on May 10–14, is the world’s leading international conference on vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft technology — everything from advanced rotorcraft to advanced air mobility. Information about the event, exhibitors and registration rates are available at www.vtol.org/forum.

The Annual Forum is normally a closed event for paying registrants only but — in an effort to help support the global vertical flight industry when the coronavirus pandemic continues to constrain interactions with clients and potential new prospects — VFS has opened up the Forum’s virtual exhibit hall to the broader vertical flight community at no charge.

“Every year, the world’s leading VTOL technologists, innovators and leaders come together at the Society’s Annual Forum,” said Mike Hirschberg, VFS Executive Director. “The knowledge sharing between industry, academia and government personnel in the presentations and with the exhibitors plays an important role in advancing vertical flight technology.”

The virtual exhibit hall will feature dozens of VTOL-related companies and organizations who will be presenting the latest developments in vertical flight technology, showcasing their advancements in airframe, propulsion, avionics, systems integration, modeling and simulation, and electric VTOL technology, and much more.

Attendees can review exhibitors’ virtual booths, collect information and interact with exhibitor booth personnel, ask questions and get product demonstrations. The scheduled Exhibitor Technical Briefings provide attendees with a more comprehensive overview of the company’s capabilities and services.

The Forum 77 exhibit hall is being held on May 11–13 after the technical paper presentations to maximize the opportunity for everyone in the helicopter / VTOL community to view the virtual exhibits and attend the Exhibit Hall Technical Briefings, which were a big hit last year. VFS has integrated these 30-minute talks into the overall Forum 77 program this year, covering topics such as advanced composites, aircraft design, autonomous VTOL, avionics, electronics, systems engineering and transmission technology.

“With a virtual exhibit hall, it has sometimes been harder for attendees to learn about cutting-edge developments,” Hirschberg said. “These Exhibitor Technical Briefings, however, provide an interactive way for attendees to get the latest information in a clear and concise manner.”

The Annual Forum plays an essential role in advancing vertical flight technology by bringing together the industry’s most creative minds and visionaries with the world’s leading aerospace manufacturers and suppliers. Individuals interested in taking advantage of the free exhibit hall-only registration must register in advance. This free registration does not include access to the Forum 77 technical and special sessions, recordings or proceedings.

The 77th Annual Forum and Technology Display is a five-day event that includes some 230 technical paper presentations on every discipline from acoustics to unmanned systems, in addition to 50+ VIP speakers from industry and government organizations. The Annual Forum & Technology Display is the largest and longest-running vertical flight technical event in the world. More than 1,200 attendees are expected to participate.

The Vertical Flight Society was founded as the American Helicopter Society in 1943 by the pioneers of the helicopter industry, who believed that technological cooperation and collaboration was essential to advance vertical flight. VFS is the global non-profit society for engineers, scientists and others working on vertical flight technology. For more than 75 years, the Society has led technology, safety, advocacy, and other important initiatives, and has been the primary forum for interchange of information on vertical flight technology.