FutureFlight

For many companies in the urban air mobility new wave, designing and building eVTOL aircraft is just the start. During a seminar this week, leaders from Joby, Archer, and United Airlines sought to demystify the buzzwords and business school theory behind their plans to transform the way people move around in a way that is more economically and environmentally sustainable.

Thales and Diehl Aerospace will combine their respective primary and secondary flight control computers in a way that complies with the EASA special conditions under which the CityAirbus NextGen is to be certified. The European companies will receive funding from the French and German governments for the project, which marks the first of several key system supply partnerships that Airbus will establish for the eVTOL aircraft's development work.

Eve's four-passenger eVTOL aircraft will be brought to market under the name Eve-Senna in an announcement made close to the first anniversary of Embraer founding the company as its urban air mobility subsidiary. The company also has a new partnership with business aviation services group Jetex.

As it presented its first quarterly financial results since its New York Stock Exchange flotation in September, analysts quizzed Lilium about how it is keeping up with an ambitious timeline to bring the Lilium Jet into commercial service in 2024.

With commercial eVTOL aircraft operations expected to start in 2024, there’s no time like the present for the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector’s pioneers to be focusing on recruitment and training of pilots. With the task of type certification understandably dominating the agendas of aircraft developers, training organizations are focusing on filling the skills gap and how flight crew will be regulated.

Companies preparing to launch eVTOL air taxi services say they will offer very affordable flights based on greatly reduced operating costs and economies of scale. Some aircraft developers have projected per-passenger-mile costs of between $1 and $3, but questions remain as to whether all aspects of their operating costs are sufficiently well known, with so many aspects such as ground infrastructure and regulation still not resolved.

Flapper, which provides flights across Latin America through a network of operators, is investing in plans to convert single turboprop aircraft with MagniX's eCaravan electric propulsion package. It will support the U.S. manufacturer in its efforts to get approval for the converted aircraft in the markets it serves.

Airflow aims to start flying its eSTOL proof-of-concept aircraft in 2022, using electric motors, controllers, and batteries provided by Pipistrel. The California start-up is exploring several propulsion options for its blown-wing design and is continuing to work with U.S.-based VerdeGo Aero on a hybrid-electric powertrain for a pair of new aircraft that would carry between four and nine passengers up to around 500 miles.

Universal Avionics will install its ClearVision enhanced flight vision system and the Aperture advanced video management device as part of an extensive package of sensors for Urban Aeronautics' CityHawk eVTOL vehicle. The Elbit Systems subsidiary will fuse data from sensors and use augmented reality technology to support situational awareness and decision-making by pilots.

Archer will use findings from flight testing of the two-seat Maker technology demonstrator to complete the preliminary design of the four-passenger eVTOL aircraft it intends to use for commercial operations beginning in 2024. In recent months, it has swelled the ranks of its engineering team, hiring people with experience in areas such as propulsion and flight controls from the aviation and automotive sectors.