FutureFlight

Supernal, Hyundai Motor Group’s advanced air mobility division, will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform to conduct flight simulations with highly autonomous eVTOL aircraft. The company is also looking to incorporate Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 augmented-reality headset into its manufacturing and maintenance activities. 

Jetoptera, a start-up developing innovative VTOL and STOL aircraft concepts using bladeless fan technology, has completed its fourth small business innovation and research  (SBIR) contract for the U.S. Air Force as part of the development work for a High Speed VTOL (HSVTOL) military aircraft. The Washington-based company this week reported that it has conducted an initial evaluation of what it calls its “3-in-1” propulsion system and is preparing to start wind-tunnel tests with a subscale model.

Parker Meggitt's eBuffer will be part of the energy storage equipment for the hydrogen propulsion system Airbus needs for its planned ZeroE airliner. The partners say the technology will complement the hydrogen-electric fuel cell primary power source by making it safer, more efficient, and light.

The agreement for LCI to buy up to 40 of the hybrid-electric Chaparral eVTOL vehicles takes Elroy Air's order book to 900 aircraft with a reported combined value of $2 billion. The leasing group is joining a list of prospective customers for the aircraft that already includes helicopter operator Bristow and delivery giant FedEx.

Destinus, the European start-up developing a hydrogen-powered hypersonic aircraft, is preparing to start flight tests with a subscale propulsion system prototype on its Jungfrau technology demonstrator in February. The next phase of work will build on recently completed tests using an afterburner it has integrated with an off-the-shelf turbojet engine as part of a long-term goal to produce an aircraft that would operate on intercontinental flights at speeds exceeding Mach 5.

Cornwall, in the southwest corner of England, has become a hub for efforts to demonstrate how drones could overcome infrastructure limitations and generate economic opportunities through services such as ship-to-shore supply flights. Over the next 15 months, the Open Skies Cornwall project will conduct flight trials using a Skyports drone to support real-life use cases with the National Health Service (NHS), Royal Mail, Falmouth Harbour, and the UK military’s emergency relief group JHubMed.

Ryse Aero Technologies, a Cincinnati-based company developing a personal eVTOL for agricultural applications, just became the first eVTOL maker to fly its aircraft at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

If you think you can model eVTOL aircraft charging based on the same systems used for electric cars, think again. That is the message from Josh Portlock, the chief technology officer of Electro, an Australia-based company that manufactures electric aircraft charging products. 

Car maker Stellantis is to produce Archer Aviation's four-passenger eVTOL aircraft under a new arrangement announced this week by the existing partners. Stellantis has also agreed to provide Archer with a further $150 million in equity capital in 2023 and 2024 in a move that significantly deepens a relationship with the California-based start-up that began in 2020.

Horizon Aircraft says it has successfully conducted the first hover flight tests of a half-scale Cavorite X5 eVTOL prototype. The Canadian start-up is developing a fixed-wing eVTOL aircraft with a highly efficient, hybrid-electric power system that can seat four passengers plus one pilot.