Collaboration Provides Engineers and Researchers Access to 16,000+ Technical Papers Spanning the Evolution of Vertical Flight
WARRENDALE, Pa. (August 4, 2026) – SAE International® and the Vertical Flight Society (VFS) announces a new partnership that will significantly expand access to one of the world’s most extensive collections of vertical flight research. Through the collaboration, VFS’s technical paper library, spanning more than eight decades of vertical flight innovation, will now be available through the SAE Mobilus® platform.
The collection includes more than 16,000 technical papers covering the evolution of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft from 1943 through today, including research on helicopters, advanced rotorcraft, uncrewed aerial systems, and emerging vertical lift technologies. By integrating this content into SAE Mobilus, this new partnership will make critical research more readily accessible to engineers, researchers, and organizations across aerospace, defense, and emerging mobility sectors.
“The partnership between SAE and the VFS reflects a shared commitment to preserving and expanding access to the technical knowledge of innovation in vertical flight,” said Michael Thompson, Director of Standards Information & Publications at SAE International. “By making this comprehensive body of work available through SAE Mobilus, we’re helping engineers and researchers build on decades of progress and accelerate new advancements in vertical lift.”
The Vertical Flight Society, a nonprofit educational and technical organization dedicated to advancing vertical flight, has long served as a central hub for rotorcraft and VTOL research. Expanding access to its technical archives supports the organization’s mission to foster innovation, encourage technical contribution, and inspire the next generation of vertical flight engineers.
“We’re hoping not only to inform the great minds out there that there’s been research done, but also encourage them to think more deeply about vertical flight, or contribute their own research,” said Angelo Collins, Executive Director of the Vertical Flight Society. “Future engineers in vertical flight will need to think beyond the aircraft itself and understand how these platforms operate within a larger mission. That means looking not only at aeromechanics, vibration, and structures, but also at systems integration and how the technology is applied in real-world use cases.”
The new enterprise subscription offering through SAE Mobilus provides streamlined access to this collection, helping organizations accelerate research, development, and innovation.
For more information on SAE Mobilus and access to the Vertical Flight Society technical library, visit https://saemobilus.sae.org/.
About SAE International®
SAE International is a global organization committed to advancing mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity. By engaging nearly 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers, we connect and educate mobility professionals to enable safe, clean, and accessible mobility solutions. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including award-winning programs like A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™. More at http://www.sae.org.
About Vertical Flight Society
The Vertical Flight Society is the world's oldest and largest technical society dedicated to enhancing the understanding of vertical flight technology. VFS is a non-profit, charitable educational and technical organization. Since it was founded as the American Helicopter Society (AHS) in 1943—just as the first US helicopter was being put into service—the Society has been the primary forum for interchange of information on vertical flight technology. According to the Society Bylaws, the purpose of the Society is to "advance the theory and practices of the science of vertical flight aircraft.” More at https://vtol.org/.
###
SAE Media Contact:
Jeff Laskowski
SAE International
248.925.4770
pr@sae.org
Originally published by SAE International. View on sae.org