FutureFlight

XTI Aircraft is preparing to build its full-scale prototype of the TriFan 600 aircraft in 2022, with a view to achieving a first flight by April 2023, en route to anticipated service entry by the first quarter of 2025. Operating in VTOL mode, the hybrid-electric model would have a range of up to around 750 miles, but the company says that this could increase to almost 1,400 miles in STOL operations, making the aircraft a more direct replacement for business jets.

Vertical Aerospace today appears to have the largest order book in the eVTOL sector, with purchase agreements covering 1,350 units and customers on four continents for its VA-X4 model. Prospective operators include two major airlines, a leasing group, a helicopter company, and now Japanese trading and investment conglomerate Marubeni, which Vertical believes will be able to lay the groundwork for advanced air mobility services in the country.

Volocopter's VoloCity, VoloDrone, and VoloConnect eVTOL aircraft will be manufactured at a new plant in Chengdu, China, operated by the German company's new joint venture with automotive group Geely. The joint venture has agreed to buy up to 150 of the aircraft to launch air taxi operations in the country, based on an agreement signed this week that raises questions about Geely's separate plans to develop the TF-2 eVTOL model.

Following on from its recent commitment to buy 50 of Electra Aero's eSTOL aircraft, the Bristow Group announced wider plans to replace its rotorcraft fleet with up to 50 of Vertical Aerospace's VA-X4 eVTOL vehicles. The operator is looking to diversify its portfolio of transportation services into new activities such as logistics and onshore passenger flights.

Johnny Doo, who is leading NASA's Transformative Vertical Flight Working Group on Public Services, says that because eVTOL aircraft are less complex and easier to operate than traditional rotorcraft they could give disaster relief agencies a new approach to getting help where it is needed.

Malloy Aeronautics' T-650 Heavy-Lift Electric UAS, which has a 300-kg payload, is being touted for a variety of civil and parapublic applications, including logistics, resupply, and search-and-rescue missions. It has been developed in partnership with BAE Systems.

The design for the CityAirbus NewGen eVTOL aircraft has a fixed wing but with no moving surfaces or tilting parts. It will carry four passengers on flights of up to around 50 miles when it enters service in 2025, the European aerospace group announced on September 21 at its sustainability summit in Toulouse.

In partnership with Brazilian ground transportation company Grupo Comporte, Gol will lease or purchase 250 of Vertical Aerospace's VA-X4 four-passenger eVTOL aircraft from leasing group Avolon. The aircraft are part of a 500-aircraft deal that Avolon made with the UK manufacturer in June, when it also invested in the start-up along with American Airlines, Honeywell, and Rolls-Royce.

France-based flight booking platform Helipass will offer flights in Eve's four-passenger eVTOL aircraft from 2026, using its network of some 120 helicopters operators based in 600 locations across Europe. The deal announced on September 20 appears to be a similar business model to other alliances the Embraer subsidiary has reached with other charter flight retailers.

Several private equity and venture capital groups have supported a €10 million funding round for Ascendance Flight Technologies, which is aiming to bring a four-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft called Atea to market in 2025. The Atea's design is now being matured through work on scaled prototypes, and the France-based start-up intends to produce one or more technology demonstrators before flying a full-scale prototype in 2024.