FutureFlight

Senior leaders from eVTOL developers Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies, and Jaunt Air Mobility were part of a discussion of prospects for the advanced air mobility sector during the Helicopter Association International's Heli-Expo show. Also contributing to the panel were prospective operators Bristow and Blade Air Mobility.

Global helicopter services operator PHI Aviation has entered into a long-term agreement with Kaman Corporation to use Kaman’s Kargo UAV for commercial operations, the companies announced Tuesday at Heli-Expo in Atlanta. As part of the new partnership, PHI has agreed to purchase 50 Kargo UAVs for its commercial operations.

Beta Technologies, an electric aerospace start-up and eVTOL developer based in Vermont, has opened a research and development facility in Montréal, the company announced Wednesday. The facility is at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, a suburban city on the island of Montréal in Quebec province. 

More than 50 employees have been hired at the new engineering hub, which opened in late 2022, and Beta plans to significantly increase the size of its workforce at the location this year, a company spokesperson told FutureFlight. 

During the Sustainable Skies conference in April, UK industry group Sustainable Aviation will publish the fifth edition of its annual carbon roadmap. This will identify key opportunities for airlines and airports to decarbonize, including the possibility of using hydrogen propulsion.

The Airo Group is to merge with Kernel Group Holdings and then complete an initial public offering that it says could value the company at around $847 million. The company says it can deliver growth through business units including eVTOL aircraft developer Jaunt Air Mobility and drone operations activities.

Doroni Aerospace completed a further round of crowdfunding on March 3, raising almost $2.5 million from more than 1,000 investors to support its plans to bring the two-seat H1 personal eVTOL to market. The Florida-based start-up closed the StartEngine.com campaign within days of releasing a video showing a full-scale technology demonstrator making a short tethered hover flight at its 13,000-sq-ft headquarters in Pompano Beach.

SkyAngels Air Ambulance, an emergency medical flight provider based in the UK, has partnered with the Dutch “flying car” manufacturer PAL-V International to explore uses for the PAL-V Liberty fly-and-drive vehicle in emergency response operations. The charity service says it plans to use the vehicle to quickly and efficiently transport doctors and paramedics in emergency situations.

Universal Hydrogen has successfully flown its hydrogen-powered De Havilland Dash 8-300 turboprop testbed for the first time. Retrofitted with a hydrogen fuel cell in one of its nacelles, the Dash 8 took off from Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, on March 2.

Emergency medical services group CareFlight is to assist AMSL Aero in preparing its Vertiia eVTOL aircraft to be used for carrying patients. The Australian companies announced their partnership during this week’s Avalon Air Show near Melbourne, where they exhibited a cabin mock-up equipped for aeromedical use.

Lockheed Martin is backing technology start-up H3X in the development of an integrated modular motor drive that it says will deliver the quantum leap in power density and fault tolerance needed to power 50- to 100-seat aircraft. The value of the U.S. aerospace and defense giant’s investment in H3X was not disclosed in a February 28 announcement, but it takes H3X’s funding total to $9 million.