FutureFlight

Xeriant and XTI Aircraft say they still intend to complete a merger announced back in mid-2021 and also raise further funds through an uplisting to the Nasdaq stock market. In an August 3 press conference, XTI's new CEO, Michael Hinderberger, acknowledged that the timeline for starting production and deliveries for the six-passenger TriFan 600 VTOL aircraft has slipped from 2024 into 2027.

American Airlines has provisionally agreed to take as many as 100 of ZeroAvia's ZA2000 hydrogen propulsion systems, which could be used to convert up to 50 as-yet-unspecified regional jets. The agreement is part of an investment in the start-up, which says it has now raised more than $150 million in a Series B funding round that is also backed by International Airlines Group and Alaska Airlines.

Experts gathered at the Vertical Flight Society's recent Electric Aircraft Symposium pointed to numerous roadblocks to putting the proper infrastructure in place for advanced air mobility, such as raising sufficient capital, finding acceptable locations, and completing the appropriate studies.

The drone maintenance group Robotic Skies is teaming up with Continuum Applied Technology, the company behind Corridor aviation service software, to create maintenance technology solutions for next-generation uncrewed aircraft systems and advanced air mobility aircraft.

A $3.1 million investment from Singapore government-backed ST Engineering in Skyports further strengthens plans that the vertiport developer and commercial drone operator is advancing in the Southeast Asian city state. Skyports is already partnered with the aerospace and defense group in commercial drone operations and also has plans to develop vertiports for eVTOL air taxi services in Singapore.

Regent Craft is collaborating with Siemens Digital Industries Software to streamline the development and production of its all-electric seagliders. The Boston-based startup announced on August 2 that it has adopted the Siemens Xcelerator software as a service (XaaS) to support the design, engineering, and development of its seaglider, a new type of vehicle that the company says will revolutionize transportation between coastal cities. 

Ascendance Flight Technologies says it now holds letters of intent covering 245 deliveries of its four-passenger, hybrid-electric Atea eVTOL aircraft, which is expected to operate on sectors of up to around 400 km. The French company has already flown subscale models and conducted wind tunnel tests as it builds a full-scale prototype that should take to the air in 2023, en route to projected EASA type certification in 2025.

Hybrid-electric propulsion specialist VerdeGo Aero will be working with aircraft engines giant Pratt & Whitney after the latter's Raytheon Technologies parent company led a $12 million Series A funding round for the Florida-based start-up. The partnership has the potential to significantly expand the scope of how VerdeGo Aero's latest 185-kW VH-3 generator is used in multiple hybrid-electric powertrains and could lead to further scaling up in power outputs.

Textron's new eAviation division now says it has resumed work on Bell's planned Nexus eVTOL aircraft and may be ready to start test flights in a couple of years. The program, which last year appeared to be suspended, is now being advanced with support from Textron Aviation, automotive supplier Kautex, and newly acquired electric aviation specialist Pipistrel.

Honeywell Aerospace will provide flight control actuation and thermal management systems for Archer’s in-development four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. This week, Archer reported that it has completed the second of three phases of flight testing with its Maker technology demonstrator.