FutureFlight

Nautilus Aviation is part of the Morris Group consortium of hospitality and renewable energy companies that is seeking to achieve net-zero ecotourism services by 2030, including aerial tours of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The helicopter operator has committed to using Eve's four-passenger eVTOL aircraft as part of its fleet.

With some similarities to a hovercraft, Regent's seagliders move on a dynamic air cushion created by pressured air between water and its wings. The company's Viceroy and Monarch models will respectively carry 12 and 100 passengers on routes of up to 180 miles, with the company planning for service entry beginning in 2025 with customers including Southern Airways Express and Brittany Ferries.

VertX Aero says that by 2030, commercial eVTOL aircraft operators could need as many as 50,000 pilots and that it could take until late 2023 for training requirements to be fully defined for initial air taxi operations. The company—formed by established flight training provider ASG with Avtrain and VectorCap—is building a dedicated eVTOL pilot training center in Ireland.

With FAA's special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category issued, Archer's engineering team has clearance for a first flight with its two-seat Maker eVTOL technology demonstrator. The aircraft has been moved to a secret location in California as final preparations are made for an initial hover flight before the end of December. Archer has recruited powertrain specialist Michael Schwekutsch to focus on the eVTOL design's propulsion system, including high-voltage and battery systems.

Funds raised from the anticipated New York Stock Exchange listing for the merged Vertical Aerospace and Broadstone Acquisition enterprise will support the UK-based manufacturer's efforts to bring its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft to market in 2024. The company says that it has provisional orders for around 1,350 of the all-electric VA-X4 model.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has allowed EHang to conduct extensive public flight trials as part of the process for meeting the type certification means of compliance for its two-seat EH216 autonomous eVTOL aircraft. These will now include a new partnership for sightseeing flights with rotorcraft operators Heli-Eastern in Shenzhen, which is part of the Greater Bay Area around Hong Kong and Macau.

Joby has installed a fixed-based flight simulator for its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft to give advanced air mobility stakeholders a firsthand opportunity to understand how it will operate. Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief of FutureFlight sister publication AIN, took the controls to see for himself. He was impressed by how the new technology greatly reduces the workload for pilots, allowing them to focus on core flight safety tasks.

Under the terms of an agreement signed on December 1, Neom has committed to buying 10 of Volocopter's VoloCity passenger eVTOL vehicles and five of its cargo-carrying VoloDrones. The two companies will collaborate to develop public transit services for communities in the Neom development.

French start-up Ascendance Flight Technologies has made significant changes to the design of its four-passenger hybrid-electric Atea VTOL aircraft, adding six more in-wing ducted fans and an extra horizontal propeller in the tail. With new funding in place, the company now says it should be ready to start flight testing a full-scale prototype in 2023.

Sweden's Heart Aerospace says it has commitments from two airlines for up to 220 examples of its electric-powered ES-19 commuter aircraft. The program just received further support with the appointment of aerostructures specialist Aernnova as a design partner. The Spain-based group has extensive experience with building aerostructures for leading manufacturers, including Boeing and Airbus.