FutureFlight

Early commitments for NFT's Aska four-seat, self-drive eVTOL vehicle have mainly come from individuals who crave door-to-door transportation options that would allow them to live farther from large cities. Among the launch members of the company's "Founders Club" were a physician who sees the Aska as being valuable in providing rapid-response capability in medical trauma events and a Silicon Valley tech executive who wants more flexibility than he gets with his existing personal fleet of two private jets and a fighter aircraft.

Revealing its initial customers for the eFlyer 800, Bye Aerospace said Jet It and JetClub signed a purchase agreement including orders and options for the seven-passenger cabin-class aircraft, along with purchase deposits for four eFlyer 4 aircraft.  As launch customers, Jet It founder and CEO Glenn Gonzales and JetClub founder and CEO Vishal Hiremath will join Bye Aerospace’s Strategic Advisory Council for the eFlyer.

Some might say that established business and private aircraft operators are natural customers for new eVTOL aircraft and the air taxi services for which they are intended. Many of the eVTOL pioneers claim they will go it alone, retaining full control of operations and the advanced air mobility business model. But that stance could be softening as operational challenges and business realities bring the old and new schools closer together.

A three-minute sortie on June 21 as part of the Paris Air Forum marked the first public flight in France by Volocopter's eVTOL aircraft prototype. The German manufacturer is one of 30 companies and organizations working on a project to prepare for small-scale air taxi services to be launched in time for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Embraer's Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions subsidiary has expanded its partnership with vertiports developer Skyports to prepare for the integration of eVTOL aircraft flight operations, air traffic management, and ground infrastructure in anticipated urban air mobility markets in Asia and the Americas. Based on an early-concept graphic released by the partners, Dallas could be one of the early-adopter locations.

Varon Vehicles' plans for urban air mobility are expected to come to fruition first in Colombia, where the company is headquartered. Under a new agreement, it will now receive support from GE Digital in areas such as software analytics needed to develop the capability for airspace efficiency, safety and predictive maintenance for eVTOL aircraft.

MagniX says it is on track to complete FAA certification of its family of electric propulsion units under Part 33 rules. In addition to the existing 500 kW Magni500 EPU, which has already flown on electrified versions of the Cessna Grand Caravan and the DHC-2 Beaver, the company also now offers the Magni350 and Magni650 units.

Teams from Liebherr-Aerospace and U.S. carmaker GM will work together at the European aviation group's laboratory in Toulouse, France, to develop a hydrogen fuel cell technology demonstrator. The partners seek to support plans to convert commercial airliners to hydrogen propulsion, such as those being advanced by Airbus through its Zero E program.

SAE International's E-40 committee on electrified propulsion is working on guidance to help the rapidly developing electric aviation sector to demonstrate the safe operations of new motors under all operational limits and assess the duration of their service life. The ARP8689 document is set to be published by the end of 2021 and will include details on proposed test procedures.

Former Airbus CEO and designated Lilium board chairman Thomas Enders told analysts that Honeywell Aerospace, Palantir, Lufthansa Flight Training and Ferrovial will play a critical role in bringing the seven-seat Lilium Jet into commercial service by 2024. The German company is expected to complete its planned merger with special purpose acquisition company Qell by the end of June, raising around $830 million in the process.