FutureFlight

Under a memorandum of understanding, Chile-based Ecocopter is conducting joint studies with Airbus regarding possible plans to launch eVTOL aircraft services in that country as well as in Peru and Ecuador. The European aerospace group aims to certify its four-passenger CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL aircraft in 2025.

Jetson says it has raised $8 million toward its $10 million seed funding target as it starts flight testing technology demonstration examples of its single-seat eVTOL vehicle at a private airfield in Italy. The start-up says it will now deliver the $92,000 vehicle fully assembled to customers, rather than as self-build kits, and claims to have collected around 500 down payments of $22,000.

Electric propulsion innovator Mako Aerospace is seeking fresh seed funding to support plans to get a prototype of a ducted-fan engine flying as part of a technology demonstration on a regional airliner. The UK-based startup has already bench-tested an early prototype of its Forerunner superconducting propulsion system, running it at just 1 percent of its anticipated power rating.

Miami-based charter and cargo flight provider Global Crossing Airlines Group, or GlobalX, has provisionally agreed to purchase 50 all-electric Alice aircraft from Eviation. Eviation announced on September 15 that GlobalX has signed a letter of intent to buy the commuter aircraft, with the first deliveries expected in 2027.

Heart Aerospace has doubled down on its plans to bring an electric regional airliner to market, unveiling a design for a 30-seat ES-30 model, which will replace the 19-seat ES-19 model the Swedish start-up announced in 2020. During a September 15 event at Heart’s Gothenburg headquarters, Air Canada and Swedish aerospace and defense group Saab each committed to investing $5 million in the venture.

To accommodate the blooming advanced air mobility industry, the FAA needs to be flexible in applying existing regulations for conventional aircraft to new technologies, the agency’s executive director of Aircraft Certification Service, Lirio Liu, said on September 12 at the Revolution Aero conference in San Francisco. However, she did not specifically address industry concerns regarding the possible use of a "special class" under its 21.17 (b) regulations in place of the 14 CFR Part 23 rules used for most existing small fixed-wing aircraft.

Beta Technologies has launched a mobile app that provides access to the electric vehicle charging stations it is installing across the U.S. The start-up, which is developing the Alia 250 eVTOL aircraft, says that the new Beta Charge facilities are be able to support other makes of electric aircraft and also electric road vehicles.

Netherlands-based PAV-V International now expects to get EASA airworthiness approval for its two-seat gyroplane under the special conditions the European regulator agreed to last year for existing CS-27 rules. The Liberty vehicle, which is already cleared for road use, is expected to be able to transition to flight mode in six minutes, with operators deploying stowable rotors before takeoff.

German eVTOL developer Volocopter has partnered with Aviation Safety and Quality Solutions (ASQS), an Austrian software company, to help it design and produce aircraft to certification standards. Under the partnership, Volocopter will implement ASQS’s integrated quality and safety management system (IQSMS) in all aspects of its business, including engineering, manufacturing, operations, and maintenance.

Airbus and Japanese helicopter operator Hiratagakuen are working together to create a simulation of ideal flight routes and a concept of operations for eVTOL air taxi services in the Kansai region. A demonstration flight is scheduled to take place there later this year.