FutureFlight

Brazil’s Flapper and Australia’s Skyportz have committed to buying up to 130 eSTOL aircraft from Electra. Plans call for the still-unnamed aircraft to begin flight testing in the U.S. next year.

NASA has awarded about $74.3 million to MagniX and the remainder of a $253.4 million grant to GE Aviation to participate in a program that aims to introduce electric aircraft propulsion technologies to commercial aircraft fleets by 2035.

The Irish Aviation Authority has issued Skyports a Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC), marking the first such certificate issued by an EU regulator. The approval allows the self-authorization of beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone flights.

Honeywell's October 5 introduction of the Anthem flight deck system means the seven-seat Lilium Jet and Vertical Aerospace’s four-passenger VA-X4 eVTOL aircraft will become the first advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles to benefit from cloud-connected avionics.

The Accelerating the Electrification of Flight team led by aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce is attempting to exceed a flight speed of 300 mph in the Spirit of Innovation aircraft. The team also consists of electric motor and controller manufacturer Yasa, which has experience in the automotive sector, and battery specialist Electroflight. Rolls-Royce says the lessons learned from the research and development project will expand the scope of its existing plans to provide electric propulsion for new eVTOL and fixed-wing aircraft.

Surf Air Mobility's efforts to stimulate the adoption of hybrid-electric propulsion in aviation are mainly focused on its prospective Ampaire subsidiary and a new alliance with Textron Aviation to convert its ubiquitous Cessna Grand Caravan fleet of turboprop utility aircraft.

The Skai will be powered by liquid hydrogen, generating electricity via fuel cells to drive six sets of motors and rotors. Alaka'i Technologies claims this approach makes the vehicle far more operationally flexible than battery-powered eVTOL models.

Bell first unveiled the Nexus eVTOL mockup at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2019, but since then the company has not provided any substantial updates on how the program is progressing. The helicopter manufacturer will be exhibiting the design in the Smithsonian Institution’s Arts and Industries Building's Futures show this fall, along with other examples of its technological achievements.

The California-based start-up is working to convert turboprop regional airliners to hydrogen propulsion using its proprietary technology, which includes delivering the fuel directly to the aircraft in capsules that are fitted in the rear of the fuselage. It is opening an engineering and design center at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in France, close to the headquarters of European aerospace group Airbus.

Bye Aerospace's eFlyer family of all-electric light aircraft are proving popular with flight training schools as they promise to reduce the cost and environmental impact of preparing new pilots. KLM Flight Academy in the Netherlands this week ordered six of the eFlyer 2 aircraft and eight of the larger eFlyer 4s.