FutureFlight

It is unclear how badly damaged Vertical Aerospace's VX4 eVTOL prototype aircraft was as a result of an incident during motor failure flight testing at Cotswold Airport in the UK on August 9. The company has planned to bring a second prototype into the flight test program later this year, and this vehicle would include a higher proportion of hardware supplied by official program partners.

Volocopter Receives DA-62 Aircraft To Prepare for eVTOL Operations

A spate of financial-results announcements over the past week paints a vivid picture of haves and have-nots in the advanced air mobility sector. At one end of the spectrum, Joby Aviation’s robust second-quarter balance sheet showed $1.2 billion in cash and short-term investments, while at the other end, rival eVTOL aircraft developer Vertical Aerospace reported it has just £89.7 million ($114.8 million) in its war chest.

The flight test campaign of Aska's four-seat eVTOL aircraft is now in full swing, with a full-scale prototype making several tethered hover flights every day at an airfield in California. Since its first successful hover tests in June, the A5 prototype has been flying about five times per day, Aska co-founder and chief operating officer Maki Kaplinsky told FutureFlight. The A5 vehicle, which Aska refers to as a “flying SUV,” is designed to operate both in the air and on public roads, and the company plans to begin delivering the vehicle to customers in 2026. 

Electric aircraft developer Eviation has outsourced the design work for its nine-seat, all-electric Alice commuter airplane to TLG Aerospace, a Seattle-based engineering firm. As a subcontractor, TLG will develop the production configuration of Eviation’s Alice.

Singapore-based tech start-up, Heron AirBridge, is expanding its reach in the Asia-Pacific region with an uncrewed aircraft system traffic management (UTM) platform that it expects to be a key enabler of advanced air mobility (AAM) services mainly using new eVTOL aircraft.

Transcend Air is rebooting its ambitions for the advanced air mobility sector after confirming that it is now working on an improved version of the Vy 400 turbine-powered VTOL aircraft it has been developing since 2018. The new twin-engined Vy 421 model will be around 25 percent larger than the earlier design. It will be aimed at civil and military applications and will be able to carry eight people or a cargo payload of 3,500 pounds on flights of just over 1,000 miles at speeds of up to 486 mph.

Battery manufacturer Amprius Technologies says it has achieved a new breakthrough in battery technology for electric aircraft and road vehicles with its creation of a new ultra-high-power, high-energy lithium-ion battery that the company claims will provide “unmatched propulsion power and energy.” The new battery packs an energy density of 400 Wh/kg while simultaneously touting an impressively high discharge rate of 10C.

ZeroAvia has reached an agreement to provide its 600-kilowatt ZA600 hydrogen fuel cell propulsion systems for a fleet of Twin Otter aircraft to be operated by Surcar Airlines. The new Spanish airline intends to offer sightseeing flights between the Canary Islands off the Atlantic coast of North Africa, starting with Twin Otters running on jet-A fuel before the aircraft can be converted to hydrogen after ZeroAvia's equipment is certified in 2025.

Eve Air Mobility Appoints New CEO

Eve Air Mobility this week announced the appointment of Johann Bordais as its new CEO. The leadership change will be effective September 1, with Bordais transitioning from his current role as president and CEO of Embraer Services & Support. Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer is the majority shareholder in Eve, which is developing a four-passenger eVTOL aircraft.