FutureFlight

Archer Aviation has closed agreements with financing and development partners for the construction of its high-volume manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia, where the California-based start-up plans to mass produce its Midnight eVTOL aircraft. 

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.

Opener Aero, the company behind the BlackFly personal eVTOL aircraft, is rebranding and introducing its first production aircraft. Now operating under the name Pivotal, the California-based company is getting ready to begin accepting orders for its first scalable production vehicle, called Helix, in early 2024. 

Ampaire has been confirmed as the first of several electric and hybrid electric propulsion system developers that will work with Elire Aero on its plans to convert existing aircraft. Elire says it expects to confirm during November the identity of the airframer it is acquiring and that this will be followed by announcements about an initial batch of "preorders" for two dozen of the aircraft.

Vertical said that the propeller failure on its first full-scale VX4 eVTOL prototype aircraft has added to the lessons learned from the first phase of flight testing. The company said that the second and third prototypes now being built will feature a much higher proportion of components specifically designed for the aircraft, getting it closer to the production standard for which it seeks type certification in 2024.

Wright says it is focusing on battery chemistries that have been overlooked as a pathway to developing megawatt-hour-size batteries that can deliver 1,000 watt-hours-per-kilogram performance for electric aircraft. The company is working with partners including NASA and EasyJet on plans for electric-powered narrowbody airliners carrying more than 100 passengers.

The U.S. Air Force has paid Archer Aviation nearly $1 million for the delivery of a mobile flight simulator for eVTOL aircraft. This is the first payment that Archer will receive from the USAF over the next five years under its recently announced defense contracts, which the company says are worth up to $142 million. 

While advanced air mobility (AAM) promises to provide cost-effective new passenger transportation options in cities across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, many countries are taking early steps in adopting uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) with limited—and sometimes—nonexistent regulatory and operational frameworks.

Pratt & Whitney and Collins join the Boeing/NASA X-66A Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project; plus Volocopter's eVTOL set to fly at NBAA-BACE business aviation show; VoltAero starts building hybrid-electric aircraft factory; Australia's Torres Strait Air commits to hydrogen-powered Islanders; the Choctaw Nation wants advanced air mobility in Oklahoma; EASA signs off on Aura Aero's manufacturing approval.

Australian advanced air mobility group Skyportz has released a concept for a waterfront vertiport and “e-mobility hub” that it hopes to build in Melbourne, Australia. Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown presented the concept on Tuesday at the Airtaxi World Congress in San Francisco.