FutureFlight

Limosa has joined forces with BAC Aerospace to begin a campaign leading to type certification from Transport Canada for its planned LimoConnect eight-seat eVTOL aircraft. The Montreal-based start-up is aiming to complete the approval process and launch series production of the aircraft by 2028.

Heart Aerospace has enlisted BAE Systems to help it define the battery system for its planned ES-30 hybrid-electric regional airliner. The Swedish start-up says it is targeting a power density of 330 Wh/kg as part of a propulsion system that will combine four battery-driven electric motors with a pair of as-yet-unspecified turbogenerators.

Vertical Aerospace's engineering team has been issued the design organization approval it needs to complete UK type certification for its four-passenger VX4 eVTOL aircraft. The company will seek validation of this certificate by air safety regulators in Europe, the U.S., Japan, and Brazil.

More evidence of the Nordic region countries becoming earlier adopters of electric aviation has surfaced over the past week, with initiatives announced in Finland and Sweden. Along with neighboring Norway, governments in the region are pressing for progress in eliminating carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from domestic flights well ahead of the global air transport industry’s commitment to achieving its net zero objectives by 2050.

Charter flight platform Blade Air Mobility is stepping up its plans to develop eVTOL air taxi services in the Indian subcontinent with a new agreement with eVTOL aircraft developer Jaunt Air Mobility. In a March 28 announcement, its Blade India joint venture with New Dehli-based investment group Hunch Ventures said that it intends to acquire at least 150 of Jaunt’s planned four-passenger Journey vehicles for its network by 2027.

Aerodrome automation system developer Altaport has signed new partnership agreements with six companies to create a comprehensive vertiport management system, combining multiple systems into a single modular platform to facilitate the handling of high-volume ground operations for eVTOL aircraft and cargo drones.

Blueskeye AI, a U.K.-based software development company that specializes in facial analysis using artificial intelligence, recently received a £20,000 award to investigate how facial sensing technology could glean information about human behavior in aircraft cockpits. The technology could be used to identify fatigue, pain, and mental health issues that could affect a pilot's performance.

Beta Technologies has added a 10th location to its network of electric recharging stations with an installation at Augusta Regional Airport in Georgia. The eVTOL aircraft developer is working on plans for similar installations, which will support multiple types of electric aircraft and ground vehicles, at more than 50 other U.S. locations.

Rotorcraft industry leaders addressing the Helicopter Investor conference last week in London expressed measured optimism over prospects for the emerging advanced air mobility sector. There was consensus that new eVTOL aircraft will start to be used for some current helicopter use cases, albeit most speakers expressed doubt that this will start happening from 2025, as many of the more bullish market entrants are insisting.