FutureFlight

Supported by its new electric propulsion subsidiary Ampaire, private air transportation group Surf Air Mobility intends to convert 150 Cessna Grand Caravan EX aircraft to hybrid-electric propulsion in 2024. The aircraft, currently powered by a single Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop engine, will be flown by partner operators who post the availability of aircraft and flights on Surf Air's booking platform.

Under the terms of a purchase contract for five eFlyer 800s, Rheinland Air Service will also provide MRO services for the eight-seat electric aircraft in Central Europe.

Rotor X, a specialist in kit-built helicopters, plans to bring a multicopter eVTOL model to the market. The six-seat RX eTransporter will be able to carry six people, or potentially be used for cargo or other applications such as medical emergency support and military missions. Flight testing is due to start in the fall of 2021, with initial FAA certification for freight use anticipated in 2022.

Having tested several prototypes of its planned two-seat eVTOL aircraft, Air is now building a full-scale technology demonstrator that it intends to start flying early in 2022. The company claims that owners will require minimal flight training to operate the aircraft, thanks to unspecified "fly by intent" flight control technology based on systems previously employed on drones.

The first prototype of JetPack's Speeder VTOL vehicle was used for tethered test flights, and development work will now be stepped up with further prototypes. The California-based company says that it is ready to start taking preorders, with customers expected to include people requiring personal transportation, freight delivery providers, emergency medical support team, and the military.

Porsche Consulting's projected $32 billion value for the global eVTOL air taxi market by 2035 is tempered by expectations that achieving this number will require investments across the industry totaling $20 billion. Its new report, which updates an earlier study conducted in 2018, provides details on the number of anticipated passengers, ride frequencies and operating locations.

Energy group EDP, which produces and distributes electrical power worldwide, is helping Embraer's eVTOL aircraft developer Eve to research what it will take to efficiently recharge electric aircraft in large-scale commercial operations. Eve, which aims to bring its four-passenger eVTOL model to market in 2026, is working with a diverse array of international partners to develop all aspects of the urban air mobility ecosystem.

Archer has dismissed new claims made by rival eVTOL aircraft developer Wisk that it referred to its designs for the Maker technology demonstrator as “Cora + Tilt." Wisk's legal team says this evidence proves its argument that Archer's design was heavily based on technology it had been working on for years, including the two-seat, all-electric Cora model. The federal court for the Northern District of California is due to consider a preliminary injunction motion on July 21.

The $2.8 mllion H2Jet project led by GKN Aerospace also involves the Swedish Energy Agency, the Chalmers University of Technology, Lund University, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, University West, the Research Institutes of Sweden and Oxeon. It is based on directly powering turbofan or turboprop engines with hydrogen and is intended to accelerate the development of demonstrator programs supported by the European Union-backed Clean Aviation Partnership.

Universal Hydrogen intends to convert regional airliners by replacing turboprop engines with hydrogen fuel cells and electric motors, with hydrogen supplied directly to the aircraft in capsules. European carriers Icelandair and Air Nostrum have signed letters of intent to convert their respective Dash 8 and ATR72 aircraft, and Alaska's Ravn Air has also agreed to convert some Dash 8s.