FutureFlight

Vertical Aerospace has signed up another highly experienced aviation manufacturer as part of its strategy to simplify and de-risk the development and certification of its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. The program's other key partners include Rolls-Royce (electric propulsion system), Honeywell (flight controls and avionics), and Solvay (composite aerostructures).

As it works to bring efficiency and transparency to the process for booking helicopter charter flights, UK-based GetHeli has opened its platform to international operators and launched a subscription service for brokers. In the longer term, its main objective is to create a flight booking platform to support eVTOL air taxi services.

The potential for advanced air mobility to play a part on the business aviation industry's future is reflected in the new aviation sector's growing prominence at the annual NBAA-BACE show. The event will include a panel discussion on October 13 including senior leaders from the FAA, U.S. Air Force and NASA.

Urban Air-Port says that its compact modular hubs require much less space than traditional heliports and can support a wide variety of electric vehicles, including eVTOL aircraft. Its alliance with Hyundai calls for the development of 65 of the facilities aross the U.S., Europe, and the Asia Pacific region, starting with a test site at Coventry in the UK.

Air New Zealand will provide technical guidance and support to Airbus as it develops its plans to bring hydrogen airliners capable of carrying up to 200 passengers on flights of up to around 2,300 miles by 2035. The airline is also looking at the potential for using battery-powered electric aircraft for shorter domestic flights.

The Shenzhen-based helicopter operator is partnering with EHang to conduct pilot flight trials to demonstrate the viability of eVTOL aircraft operating in the same low-altitude airspace as helicopters in China’s heavily populated Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Aero engines group Rolls-Royce is working with electric motor and controller maker Yasa and battery specialist Electroflight to conduct test flights with the all-electric Spirit of Innovation aircraft. The flights are part of the Accelerating the Electrification of Flight project, which is intended to stimulate the development of electric propulsion for advanced air mobility aircraft. The work is being supported by the Aerospace Technology Institute and the UK government.

Nine months after announcing plans to enter the U.S. market, the Germany-based eVTOL developer has been included in Los Angeles's Urban Movement Labs partnership to build a UAM network and launch services, including air taxi flights. The company aims to certify its two-seat Volocopter aircraft in 2023 and has plans for a larger, longer-range model called VoloConnect and a cargo-carrying vehicle called VoloDrone.

Japanese flying car and drone developer SkyDrive has launched a cooperative project with the city of Osaka, building on earlier work to debut air taxi services in time for the Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai event. An agreement signed this week includes clearance to start test flights in the city, with data from these to be shared with local officials and other stakeholders involved in Osaka Roundtable for Social Implementation of the Air Mobility Revolution, which was established in November 2020.

Lilium and Archer will raise between 23 and 30 percent less than expected from their New York share flotations this week—$584 million and $847.6 million, respectively. This is due to high percentages of shareholders in their respective SPAC merger partners, Qell and Atlas Crest, opting to exercise their rights to redeem stock before the "business combinations" closed. It remains to be seen whether this is due purely to shifting sentiment in the wider SPAC sector or to a more specific cooling towards advanced air mobility stock.