An urban air mobility building-top skyport for landing. loading and unloading. servicing. and parking short field takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft. which includes a rotatable flight deck having at least one runway on which aircraft takeoff and land: a rotatable lower deck immediately below the flight deck and including an aircraft taxiway surrounding an enclosed central terminal with an elevator bank: and first and second aircraft ramps connecting the flight deck and the lower deck on which to taxi aircraft between the flight deck and the lower deck. A battery-swap station robotically replaces depleted batteries with fully charged batteries without the need for aircraft to cease moving at slow taxi speeds at any point during the process.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) storage and launch system, including: a UAV pod having an interior; and a telescoping UAV landing surface disposed in the interior of the UAV pod; where the telescoping UAV landing surface may translate up toward a top opening of the UAV pod, translate down into an interior of the UAV pod, or rotate relative to the UAV pod.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) storage and launch system, including: a UAV pod having an interior; and a telescoping UAV landing surface disposed in the interior of the UAV pod; where the telescoping UAV landing surface may translate up toward a top opening of the UAV pod, translate down into an interior of the UAV pod, or rotate relative to the UAV pod.

A docking station for an aircraft includes a base portion and an alignment system disposed on the base portion configured to orient the aircraft relative to the base portion. The alignment system can include a plurality of outer protrusions extending away from the base portion in a vertical direction.

An aircraft tow vehicle comprises a turntable lifting unit configured to automatically rotate and lift for attachment to a nose landing gear of an aircraft. A gate coupled to the turntable lifting unit automatically unlocks, opens to receive the nose landing gear, closes to secure the nose landing gear, and locks. A sensor system detects the nose landing gear. A controller receives data from the sensor system, processes the data to determine a position of the nose landing gear, and controls the turntable lifting unit while automatically adjusting a position of the tow vehicle relative to the nose landing gear. A moving floor adjusts to accommodate different nose wheel sizes. A nose wheel adapter automatically positions itself to hold down the nose landing gear when weight is detected on the moving floor.

A takeoff and landing pad apparatus for an unmanned aerial vehicle includes: a pad including a takeoff and landing surface; a mooring mechanism configured to moor the unmanned aerial vehicle on the pad; a drive source configured to rotate the pad together with the mooring mechanism; and a controller configured to control operation with the mooring mechanism and the drive source. The controller drives, based on information about a wind direction to be acquired, the drive source to rotate such that a nose of the unmanned aerial vehicle on the takeoff and landing surface faces the wind direction.

A takeoff and landing pad apparatus for an unmanned aerial vehicle includes: a pad including a takeoff and landing surface; a mooring mechanism configured to moor the unmanned aerial vehicle on the pad; a drive source configured to rotate the pad together with the mooring mechanism; and a controller configured to control operation with the mooring mechanism and the drive source. The controller drives, based on information about a wind direction to be acquired, the drive source to rotate such that a nose of the unmanned aerial vehicle on the takeoff and landing surface faces the wind direction.

An urban air mobility building-top skyport for landing, loading and unloading, servicing, and parking short field takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, which includes a rotatable flight deck having at least one runway on which aircraft takeoff and land; a rotatable lower deck immediately below the flight deck and including an aircraft taxiway surrounding an enclosed central terminal with an elevator bank; and first and second aircraft ramps connecting the flight deck and the lower deck on which to taxi aircraft between the flight deck and the lower deck. A battery-swap station robotically replaces depleted batteries with fully charged batteries without the need for aircraft to cease moving at slow taxi speeds at any point during the process.

An urban air mobility building-top skyport for landing, loading and unloading, servicing, and parking short field takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, which includes a rotatable flight deck having at least one runway on which aircraft takeoff and land; a rotatable lower deck immediately below the flight deck and including an aircraft taxiway surrounding an enclosed central terminal with an elevator bank; and first and second aircraft ramps connecting the flight deck and the lower deck on which to taxi aircraft between the flight deck and the lower deck. A battery-swap station robotically replaces depleted batteries with fully charged batteries without the need for aircraft to cease moving at slow taxi speeds at any point during the process.

An embodiment vertiport system includes a first area, a second area separate from the first area, and a transfer portion configured to transfer an aircraft between the first area and the second area, wherein the transfer portion includes a front transfer apparatus having a front cable detachably connectable to a front portion of the aircraft and a rear transfer apparatus having a rear cable detachably connectable to a rear portion of the aircraft.