FutureFlight

Volocopter announced a planned leadership change a few days after reporting that South Korea’s WP Investments, Honeywell, and previous investor Atlantis are the main backers for a $170 million Series E funding round. From September 2022, Dirk Hoke, formerly CEO of Airbus Defence & Space, will succeed Florian Reuter as the German eVTOL aircraft developer's CEO and managing director.

Jaunt Air Mobility is strengthening the partnership base for developing its family of eVTOL aircraft with the appointment of India-based L&T Technology Services, which has provided so-called pure-play engineering services to aerospace clients including Airbus. Meanwhile, the company is establishing its design and manufacturing facility in Montreal as it prepares to merge with the Airo Group.

Lilium is partnering with private aircraft fractional ownership pioneer NetJets and its fellow Berkshire Hathaway company, FlightSafety International. The agreement could see NetJets marketing shares in a special four-seat premium version of its Lilium Jet and also serving as an operating partner for shuttle services in markets such as Florida.

The first H2-Aero Symposium & Workshop will bring together multiple companies pioneering hydrogen propulsion technology for aviation with government and industry leaders seeking to promote the green fuel's adoption for new aircraft. The latest Vertical Flight Society event follows its recent Transformative Vertical Flight conference, which heard from another strong hydrogen advocate, Anita Sengupta Anita Sengupta whose HydroPlane start-up is working on plans for a 1-MW powertrain that will support various types of electric aircraft.

Phenix Solutions is aiming to complete FAA type certification of the remotely piloted Ultra 2XL eVTOL in 2023, with a view to it being used for a variety of civil and defense applications. It is expected to be able to operate beyond visual line of sight, carrying around 2,000 pounds of payloads on missions of up to 200 miles.

New funds from Korea's WP Investments and Honeywell Aerospace will help Volocopter bring its family of eVTOL aircraft to market. The German manufacturer also now has a joint venture with Seoul-based WP to make preparations to launch air taxi services in South Korean cities.

The National Business Aviation Association and its AAM Roundtable have worked with the U.S. Congress and federal agencies to help address infrastructure and operational challenges associated with advanced air mobility.

NetJets markets fractional ownership shares in private jets and is now planning to add Lilium's six-passenger eVTOL aircraft to its portfolio. Under a provisional agreement, it may also become an operating partner in the manufacturer's planned flight network in Florida.

The FAA and the UK's Civil Aviation Authority have said that they will collaborate on efforts to certify eVTOL aircraft. An agreement announced this week will build on existing bilateral air safety arrangements between the two countries, making it easier for manufacturers and operators to get approvals validated on either side of the Atlantic.

Manfred Hader, from Roland Berger's aerospace consultancy team, says that fever pitch excitement around advanced air mobility 2021's deluge of investment might now have subsided. He and other experts speaking at this week's Global Urban & Advanced Air Summit feel that it could now take until around 2025 or 2026 for the true commercial potential of the sector to be visible.