FutureFlight

Each of Lilium Jet's 30 fan engines fitted in the wings and canard will have its own electric motor. Lilium has chosen Honeywell Aerospace and Japanese automotive group Denso to develop these 100 kW motors, which will each weigh just 4 kg.

Circumstances out of Harbour Air’s control—namely, the Covid pandemic and resulting supply chain constraints—have slowed progress considerably and forced at least a one-year delay in the eBeaver’s expected certification. Meanwhile, testing continues on the first example while the airline awaits delivery of a new motor and battery pack for its next airplane.

The company will accelerate the complex process involved in verifying software systems for Joby's eVTOL aircraft. Its team will work from tandem testing facilities at Joby's headquarters in California and the Avionyx base in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Pratt & Whitney Canada has chosen Switzerland’s H55 to supply battery systems for the regional hybrid-electric flight demonstrator program the engine company established last July. The National Research Council Canada (NRC) and the province of Quebec’s Innovative Vehicle Institute (IVI) have agreed to support the development of the battery component designs and their electrical control systems.

A network of operators will provide flights in a fleet of VoltAero's Cassio hybrid-electric aircraft for customers who will acquire a 20 percent stake to share access to between 800 and 1,000 flight hours per year. VoltAero now says it will start deliveries in 2024 of the four-passenger Cassio 330 model, which will be followed by the larger Cassio 480 and 600 models.

The European Patent Office has published 37 new patent applications from German eVTOL developer Lilium, the company said Wednesday. The patents would apply to engineering inventions spanning several domains, including energy, propulsion, structures and interior, avionics, and custom electric.

Flight booking platform Surf Air Mobility, which markets scheduled regional services and charter flights, aims to convert large numbers of Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft to hybrid-electric propulsion in partnership with MagniX and AeroTec. Through a business combination with special purpose acquisition company Tuscan Holdings, it aims to raise around $467 million.

Having raised €10 million ($10.4 million) in seed funding, Solithor will step up the development of solid-state lithium batteries that it says will outperform current technology by at least 30 percent. The start-up is part of the Imec group and is operating from the EnergyVille research and development hub in Leuven, Belgium.

California-based eVTOL company Overair and Urban Movement Labs (UML) will start work right away on studies tied to urban air mobility infrastructure in the greater Los Angeles area under a new partnership announced Tuesday. The Urban Air Mobility Partnership will focus on community, government, and industry engagement to ensure the implementation of what Overair calls safe, equitable, convenient, and sustainable urban air mobility technology.

The VoloIQ system being developed by eVTOL aircraft developer Volocopter to support its passenger- and cargo-carrying operations will benefit from data-processing technology based on the Microsoft Azure platform. It is intended that the technology will support the company's planned transition to autonomous flight operations.