FutureFlight

As part of this week's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum held in San Francisco, the U.S. Export-Import Bank signed off on a loan to support Beta Technologies' efforts to get orders for its eVTOL and eSTOL aircraft. The funding will support the expansion of its manufacturing facility in Vermont.

The Japanese airline and its engineering division will work with Universal Hydrogen and H2Fly to explore the potential for decarbonizing part of the carrier's regional fleets with hydrogen-electric powertrains. The airline has yet to sign orders for the retrofit kits being developed but has confirmed that hydrogen is part of its strategy to achieve net zero carbon status by 2050.

Elroy Air’s autonomous eVTOL cargo aircraft has flown for the first time, the California-based aircraft developer announced on November 16.  The hybrid-electric Chaparral C1 prototype performed its inaugural flight on November 12, taking off vertically from the company’s flight test operations center at Byron Airport, just east of San Francisco. It successfully landed without incident after a 57-second hover flight. 

Air Chateau International, a private helicopter operator in the UAE, intends to purchase up to 100 Midnight eVTOL aircraft from Archer Aviation in a deal worth $500 million. In a memorandum of understanding signed at the Dubai Airshow on November 16, Air Chateau agreed to send Archer a nonrefundable pre-delivery payment of $1 million by the end of December.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Arlington Municipal Airport want to attract eVTOL aircraft operators, so they have joined forces with manufacturer Overair to devise a plan for the required infrastructure, including vertiports and charging facilities. Meanwhile, Overair is getting closer to being ready to start test flights with a full-scale prototype of its Butterfly aircraft.

Wright Converts Crop-spraying Aircraft to Hybrid Electric Power

Wright Electric and Axter Aerospace have started flight testing a Thrush crop-spraying aircraft that they have converted to use a hybrid-electric propulsion system. The partners aim to start offering the conversion package after securing a supplemental type certificate for the modification in 2027.

Bangalore could be an early adopter of eVTOL air services in India based on a new partnership between Eve Air Mobility and Hunch Mobility, which plans to acquire up to 200 of its four-passenger aircraft. Eve is also now working with vertiport developer Kookiejar and its local partner Air Chateau on plans to develop infrastructure in the UAE.

In a sign that it is embracing an electric aviation future, New York City hosted public flight demonstrations of eVTOL aircraft developed by Joby and Volocopter at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport this week.

After becoming Lilium's Middle East authorized dealer for the four-passenger Pioneer Edition of the Lilium Jet, ArcosJet has committed to acquiring 10 of the aircraft with deliveries due to be made in 2026 and 2027. At the Dubai Airshow, Lilium also announced that Michelin will develop and manufacture tires for its eVTOL aircraft, while InoBat will provide batteries.

Japanese eVTOL aircraft developer SkyDrive says a Setouchi Islands tourism association has agreed to purchase an unspecified number of the company’s three-seat SD-05 air taxis for commercial use. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Okayama Kurashiki Mizushima Aero & Space Industry Cluster Study Group (MASC), in which they pledged to collaborate on the development of commercial eVTOL operations in Japan’s Setouchi Islands, a group of thousands of small islands in the Seto Inland Sea.