FutureFlight

Archer Aviation has completed the assembly of its first Midnight eVTOL air taxi and shipped the aircraft to a flight test facility to prepare for its first flight this summer. As the company works toward getting its four-seat air taxi certified and into commercial service by 2025, it also is fortifying its engagement with the U.S. Department of Defense to pursue possible military applications for the eVTOL aircraft. On May 10, Archer announced the formation of a Government Services Advisory Board that will help to oversee and inform its work with the Pentagon. 

FlightSafety will produce multiple advanced training devices to prepare pilots to fly the Lilium Jet eVTOL aircraft. The training specialist is also making a preliminary eSim device representing the vehicle's cockpit that engineers can use for development and certification work.

Japan's SkyTaxi Orders 50 Plana eVTOL Aircraft

Autonomous flight pioneer Xwing has received a small business innovation research contract from the U.S. Air Force’s Afwerx Prime program to study potential defense applications for remotely piloted aircraft. As part of the agreement, the California-based company will collaborate with the USAF on a 21-month flight test campaign using its experimental self-flying Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. During these remotely operated flights, USAF officials will provide feedback on Xwing's "Superpilot" autonomous flight control system to help the company refine and optimize the technology for defense applications.

Japan Airlines (JAL) has signed a memorandum of understanding with California-based eVTOL air tax developer Wisk Aero to bring autonomous air taxi flights to Japan, the companies announced Tuesday. JAL is the first airline to partner with Wisk, which revealed its self-flying air taxi, called Gen 6, in October. As part of the agreement, Wisk will work closely with the airline’s maintenance subsidiary, JAL Engineering Co. (JALEC), to come up with plans for the operation and maintenance of Wisk’s autonomous air taxis in Japan. But JAL is not yet committing to purchasing any of Wisk’s aircraft. 

Honeywell developed a guide to certification for new advanced air mobility vehicles to help its own engineers make sense of a complex landscape and then decided to make the resource publicly available. Also this week, the aerospace group, which produces propulsion and avionics systems, agreed to help Swiss start-up Jekta to develop its planned electric amphibious aircraft.

Vertical Aerospace has confirmed that it expects to need at least an additional 12 months to achieve type certifications for its VX-4 eVTOL aircraft. In a letter to shareholders marking the end of the first quarter of 2023, the UK-based public company said that a review of the program timeline has resulted in a decision by the management team to target certification by the end of 2026.

Cormorant Seaplanes is looking to refresh the fleet of amphibious aircraft by using wood as a key manufacturing material for its planned hybrid-electric design. The Dutch-Scottish start-up is fundraising to accelerate its plans, building on its role in the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment project, based in Scotland’s Orkney Islands.

With so much of the efforts to bring eVTOL aircraft into commercial service focused on new propulsion systems and automated flight controls, the interiors of these vehicles have been largely overlooked. Air taxi services could start in 2025 and yet hardly any of the prospective passengers have yet been given the faintest idea of what the cabin experience will be like.

Electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation has received a $180 million investment from one of its long-term investors, Baillie Gifford. The British investment management firm, which is also a major backer of Tesla and Amazon, has agreed to purchase nearly 44 million newly issued shares of Joby’s common stock at a public offering price of $4.10 per share, Joby announced May 3 before releasing its first quarterly financial report of the year.