EHang Suspends Nasdaq Share Trading Ahead of “Significant Announcement”
Chinese eVTOL aircraft developer EHang suspended trading in its shares on New York’s Nasdaq exchange, citing “an upcoming announcement concerning a very significant development regarding its business operations.” While no further details were provided, the company has long indicated the Civil Aviation Administration of China could be close to issuing type certification of its two-seat, autonomous EH-216S vehicle.
In a statement issued after the stock market opened on Monday morning, EHang said it intends to make an application to Nasdaq to resume trading in its American depositary shares no later than 5 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, October 13.
Regent Craft Raises $60 Million For Electric Seagliders
Regent Craft has raised $60 million to support the development of its family of electric wing-in-ground-effect seagliders through a Series A funding round that closed on October 5. The round, which was jointly led by 8090 Industries and Founders Fund, was also backed by earlier strategic investors including Japan Airlines Innovation Fund, Lockheed Martin, and Yamato Holdings, as well as new supporters Point72 Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, the UAE’s Strategic Development Fund, Future Planet Capital, and Mark Cuban.
In April, Regent unveiled a full-scale mock-up of the 12-passenger Viceroy sea glider prototype it aims to start flight testing in 2024. The mock-up, which includes a fully equipped cabin, incorporates lessons learned from tests conducted with a one-quarter-scale technology demonstrator.
The company says the Viceroy will be able to operate on coastal routes of up to 180 miles with existing battery technology when it enters service around the middle of this decade. It has longer-term plans for a 100-passenger vessel called the Monarch that would operate up to 500 miles.
Volatus, TruWeather Partner on Weather Solutions for Vertiports
Volatus Infrastructure & Energy Solutions (V&IE), a Wisconsin-based company developing vertiports for eVTOL aircraft, is teaming up with meteorological data specialist TruWeather Solutions to develop “weather infrastructure and weather services needed for vertiport operations to be conducted safely and efficiently,” the company announced Tuesday.
“For advanced air mobility to thrive, aircraft must have access to more precise microclimate data, enabling enhanced flight planning, effective risk management, and informed in-flight decision-making,” said Don Berchoff, TruWeather Solutions CEO and co-founder. “TruWeather has a formula for detailed design and deployment of weather sensing infrastructure to monitor wind and weather conditions and contribute to safer, more efficient vertiport operations. We are happy to partner with VI&E Solutions to implement a shared vision of building sustainable solutions.”
Beta Selects Garmin G3000 Flight Deck
Beta Technologies has selected the Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck system for its CX300 electric fixed-wing airplane as well as the Alia-250 eVTOL model, which are expected to enter service in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
Rival eVTOL aircraft developers Joby and Archer have also previously announced that their aircraft would feature the G3000 avionics suite, which is already widely used in business jets. Garmin’s biggest competitor in the advanced air mobility sphere is Honeywell, whose Anthem integrated flight deck has been selected by aircraft developers including Supernal, Lilium, and Vertical Aerospace.
Wisk’s Autonomous Air Taxi Takes Flight in Los Angeles
Wisk Aero, a Boeing-backed company developing an autonomous eVTOL air taxi, has been conducting flight trials with its fifth-generation prototype in the skies over Los Angeles. “The secret is out! But, then again, it's hard to hide a bright yellow, autonomous, eVTOL air taxi at a major commercial airport in Los Angeles,” the company revealed via Twitter.
Brian Yutko, Wisk’s CEO, said the flight testing campaign from Long Beach Airport does not necessarily imply that Wisk aims to launch commercial air taxi operations in the area. Rather, Wisk is conducting flight trials like these to study how its pilotless aircraft operates in a real-world environment.
KLM Joins Advisory Board For Heart Aerospace’s Hybrid Electric ES-30 Airliner
Dutch airline KLM will be represented on the advisory board for the ES-30 hybrid-electric aircraft being developed by Swedish start-up Heart Aerospace. The stakeholders already engaged in the development of the 30-seat model include other airlines such as Air Canada, as well as government agencies, leasing companies, and airports.
Heart Aerospace says it holds 250 firm orders for the aircraft, as well as options and purchase rights for 120 more and letters of intent covering a further 91 units. KLM has not yet publicly committed to adding the ES-30 to its fleet but has made it clear that decarbonization is a strategic priority.
Operating solely on battery power, the ES-30 is expected to have a range of up to 200 km (125 miles). Using hybrid-electric power, this could increase to 400 km, and, with just 25 passengers on board could reach 800 km.
Eviation Alice Test Pilot Receives Award From Peers
Steve Crane, who flew the one and only test flight so far conducted by Eviation’s Alice electric aircraft back in September 2022, has received the Iven C. Kincheloe Award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP). The honor, which has previously been bestowed to the likes of Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, was awarded during the group’s 67th annual awards banquet held in Washington, D.C., on September 30.
“Steve worked directly with two flight test engineers, a small cadre of design engineers, and business leadership to maintain steady progress towards a safe flight,” noted the SETP in its announcement. “Steve’s contribution to the aircraft program was invaluable and ultimately culminated in his flawless first flight of the Alice, representing a major milestone for electric aviation and the future of air mobility.”
The nine-seat Alice prototype has now flown since its one and only eight-minute sortie from Moses Lake in Washington on Sept. 27, 2022. Eviation says its engineering team is still assessing the data from this flight and has recently indicated that it may introduce some design changes to the aircraft, which is powered by electric motors developed by sister company MagniX.
