FutureFlight

A recent Joby briefing on progress with its plans to bring its eVTOL aircraft into commercial service in 2024 provided useful insights into what the process entails and why changes to rules covering the certification of general aviation aircraft are so significant. Beyond type certification, the company is also working to be approved as a commercial aircraft operator under Part 135 rules and is preparing to hire and train pilots.

Intended for personal mobility on medium-distance trips, the Tensor 600X uses Fraundorfer’s R01 high-performance rotor system, a new generation of autorotation rotors developed with computer simulation.

Rolls-Royce has asked the Fédération Aéronautique International to validate three world speed records set in its Spirit of Innovation technology demonstrator, which it now says is the world's fastest all-electric aircraft. The company claims the aircraft far exceeded previous records set in an electric-powered Extra 330LE aircraft, achieving a top speed of 387 mph in one flight. The company says data from the UK government-backed Accelerating the Electrification of Flight program will support further development of aircraft electric propulsion.

Xwing is seeking FAA clearance to operate its converted Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft with technology that allows for remote piloting under an experimental license with its Part 135 operating subsidiary. With aviation industry veteran Fred Cromer appointed as CFO, the start-up will be pursuing further fundraising while also accelerating plans to bring its autonomous flight technology into commercial service with air freight operators.

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.