FutureFlight

Luxaviation says that its 60-plus-year pedigree in operating and supporting business jets and helicopters makes it well placed to take a leading role in bringing eVTOL and eSTOL aircraft into commercial service. Through a new partnership with Rolls-Royce—which will provide key infrastructure, such as fast-charging capability and maintenance capability for electric propulsion systems—the companies intend to support the expansion of services by working with new aircraft operators and vertiports.

Prospective early customers for Electra's hybrid-electric nine-seat eSTOL aircraft told the company they want helicopter-like operations with better than fixed-wing operating costs. This has meant altering the blown-lift design and emphasizing the ability to operate from landing strips no bigger than a football field in prime city-center real estate and also from distribution centers and shopping malls.

UK Research & Innovation's Future Flight Challenge is about to announce further government-backed funding for the third phase of projects aimed at preparing for the launch of advanced air mobility services. Meanwhile, GKN Aerospace and its partners—Swanson Aviation Consultancy, Pascall and Watson, and Connected Places Catapult—have just completed their Skybus project to explore the potential for shuttle flights in a 30-passenger eVTOL aircraft.

Natilus is working on a family of uncrewed freight aircraft that it says will offer an intercontinental range of up to 5,400 nm and payloads as high as 144 tonnes. It says that five prospective operators have made commitments worth $6 billion for the aircraft, but it has so far not provided any details of the propulsion system to be used for the blended wing design.

The four-seat Aska aircraft is billed as a flying SUV intended for personal transportation. Unlike smaller "flying car" concepts, it will have to be certified under Part 23 rules due to its size and weight, and its developer NFT has enlisted the aerospace and automotive engineering expertise of India's Tech Mahindra to advance development work. The hybrid-electric vehicle will be able to operate in eVTOL or eSTOL mode and is expected to have a range of around 250 miles.

Over the next two years, a working group led by Wisk will perform an analysis of the economic effect and workforce development, community acceptance and outreach, integration of autonomous eVTOL aircraft into transportation plans, and federal and state government funding opportunities in Long Beach, California.

Airbus and aircraft engine maker CFM International will convert an A380 airliner to run on a hydrogen propulsion system that the companies are developing for the planned ZeroE aircraft that could be ready to enter commercial service in 2035. The flying testbed aircraft could be airborne in 2026 under a plan that will see the A380 fitted with a GE Passport business aircraft turbofan and run on hydrogen combustion.

AutoFlight aims to fast-track service entry for its four-seat Prosperity I eVTOL aircraft based in part on operational experience it expects to gain by flying cargo operations with an autonomous version of the design called CarryAll. The Shanghai-based company believes it can offer a price point of no more than $150,000 per aircraft and that by bypassing the aviation sector for both manufacturing and commercial operations it could achieve operating costs as low as $50 per flight hour.

According to Elroy Air co-founder David Merrill, his company's autonomous Chaparral C1 VTOL cargo transporter will bring the convenience and profitability of express freight deliveries to corners of the earth that cannot be reached by current aircraft and ground vehicles. He told the Vertical Flight Society's Transformative Vertical Flight conference that it will provide unprecedented door-to-door connections for cargo deliveries.

A project launched this week by vertiport developer Skyports and eVTOL aircraft manufacturer Eve will focus on issues such as airspace design, operations, and infrastructure in preparing an electric air taxi concept of operations for the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau. Multiple companies are looking to be involved in the government's plans to allow eVTOL services to launch at Osaka's World Expo event in 2025.