FutureFlight

Scientists with the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), together with eVTOL developer Beta Technologies, have performed the first-ever drop test of an aircraft battery to study the safety of the vehicle in the event of an emergency landing. 

Air, a start-up developing a personal eVTOL aircraft called Air One, has achieved its first transition flight, “perfectly” transitioning from hover to wing-borne cruise flight, the company announced on December 20. 

Europe’s CORUS-XUAM project to establish how so-called U-Space infrastructure for uncrewed aircraft could be used to support advanced air mobility (AAM) flight operations is set to draw to an end in early 2023. But there is still plenty of work to be done to lay a firm air traffic management (ATM) foundation for the new eVTOL aircraft and drones that are set to operate alongside existing traffic in and around busy cities.

Spanish airlines Air Nostrum and Volotea have acquired a minority stake in Dante Aeronautical, which is working to market electric propulsion conversions of existing turboprop aircraft such as the Cessna Caravan, the DHC Twin Otter, the Beechcraft King Air, and the Casa C212.

For the past decade, dozens of start-ups have been raising billions of dollars to develop a new breed of aircraft tapping more sustainable electric propulsion and autonomous flight technology, with the promise of revolutionizing the way people and cargo get around. Although it is still very much a nascent industry, 2022 has proven to be a pivotal year for advanced air mobility (AAM), as vehicle manufacturers and regulators alike have taken some monumental steps toward making that dream a reality.

While Beta Technologies works to build out its network of charging stations throughout the U.S., the company’s all-electric Alia 250 eVTOL aircraft has been flying across the country for a series of demonstration flights.

Most recently, the eVTOL developer sent its Alia aircraft on a five-day journey across the eastern half of the U.S. The 876-mile (762 nm) mission began on November 30 in Plattsburgh, New York—about 20 miles northwest of the company’s headquarters in Burlington, Vermont—and ended in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Reliable Robotics and its new Europe-based partner ASL Aviation Holdings plan to select a twin-turboprop aircraft to convert for remotely-operated freight services under supplemental type certificates. They will engage with prospective airline customers for the technology and also with international air safety regulators, such as EASA, building on the work Reliable Robotics is already doing with the FAA.

Italian aerospace components specialist Avio Aero is now involved in multiple European research and development projects aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions from air transport. The Amber hybrid-electric technology demonstrator project has $34 million in European Commission funding for work in the next four years that will support wider efforts to bring a new or converted regional airliner to market.

Air New Zealand, which recently announced its ambition to bring zero-emissions flights to its home country by 2026, has selected four major partners for the new program, called Mission Next Generation Aircraft. This week, the carrier confirmed that Eviation, Beta Technologies, VoltAero, and Cranfield Aerospace—all companies working on electric, hybrid, or hydrogen-powered aircraft—will support its efforts to demonstrate the viability of reducing carbon emissions.

The FAA has successfully completed a critical systems review for Joby Aviation’s eVTOL, bringing the aircraft one step closer to achieving type certification, the company announced on December 14. According to Joby, the FAA conducted an in-person, multi-day audit of Joby’s eVTOL at the company’s facilities in Marina, California, to complete the second of four systems reviews required for its type certification program.