Crisalion Mobility To Unveil Integrity eVTOL Aircraft at Dubai Airshow
Spanish start-up Crisalion Mobility plans to introduce its Integrity eVTOL aircraft at next week's Dubai Airshow. The company, which recently rebranded from its former name Umiles Next, says the aircraft will carry a single pilot and five passengers on flights of up to 100 kilometers (63 miles) at a cruise speed of 180 km/h.
According to Madrid-based Crisalion, it has raised just over $16 million and is preparing to start another funding round in the first quarter of 2024. The company says it envisages applications including air taxi flights, emergency medical services, cargo operations, and tourism.
Announcing the launch on November 8, Crisalion said it has already flown a subscale technology demonstrator. It added that the Integrity will use its patented FlyFree technology, which it described as "a stability system that controls the aircraft movements in all directions" using rotor-control software.
Fototerra Orders 10 Moya Aero eVTOL Aircraft
Moya Aero has signed a letter of intent with a third customer interested in operating the company's autonomous utility eVTOL aircraft. Fototerra, a Brazilian company that specializes in airborne-captured geographical data, has provisionally agreed to purchase 10 of Moya's aircraft, which it plans to use for applications like aerial photogrammetry, hyperspectral digital aero photogrammetry, lidar surveys, and environmental observations.
The aircraft has a payload of 200 kilograms (440 pounds) and a range of 110 kilometers (70 miles) and is being developed for roles such as cargo deliveries and crop spraying. Moya's other customers include Canadian cargo logistics group N2 Infrastructure Technologies and Brazilian helicopter operator Helisul Aviation.
The aircraft, which is expected to enter service in 2026, will be delivered to Fototerra following the installation of specialist equipment for capturing images. Foroterra provides services such as images for cartographic surveys.
SkyDrive and Kansai Power Company Collaborate on eVTOL Chargers
Kansai Electric Power Company and eVTOL aircraft developer SkyDrive have jointly developed electric charging facilities to support flight demonstrations to be held as part of Japan's World Expo 2025 event in Osaka. Japan-based SkyDrive is one of several eVTOL manufacturers that is set to participate in the exhibition, for which authorities have approved plans for small-scale operations.
The first charging facilities are due to be installed at SkyDrive's flight test facility in Toyota by the end of this year. Another facility is to be installed at a vertiport to be constructed at Yumeshima Island in time for the Expo 2025 event.
SkyDrive is developing a three-seat eVTOL aircraft and is working toward type certification with the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau. It intends to start manufacturing in the spring of 2024 in a factory owned by its partner and investor Suzuki Motor Company.
Republic Airways Backs Aura Aero's Hybrid-electric Regional Airliner
North American regional airline Republic Airways has signed on as a strategic advisor to Aura Aero, a French aerospace manufacturer developing a 19-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft called ERA (short for "Electric Regional Airliner").
In a memorandum of understanding signed on Monday, Republic pledged to support Aura on the technical design and commercial development of the ERA, which is expected to enter service by 2030. It has not yet committed to operating the aircraft. Aura says its order book is valued at 3.5 billion euros, which includes letters of intent for more than 350 units.
Bellwether’s Oryx eVTOL Aircraft Lands at Dubai Airshow
Bellwether Industries is debuting the newest model in its Volar family of personal eVTOL aircraft at the 2023 Dubai Airshow, which takes place next week at the Dubai World Center airport. The London-based aerospace start-up announced this week that it plans to showcase a subscale model of its third-generation prototype, a three-seat eVTOL aircraft called the Oryx, during the five-day exhibition.
Marketed as a private vehicle for urban air mobility, the Oryx features a sleek, sports car-like design with no wing or external propellers. According to Bellwether, it will be capable of flying up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) in under 20 minutes on a single charge.
Bellwether made its first appearance at the Dubai Airshow in 2021 when the company showed off its second-generation prototype, a single-seat eVTOL aircraft called the Antelope. The company has also been flight-testing its prototypes in Dubai since 2021. It aims to have an aircraft approved for personal use in Europe by 2028.
