FutureFlight

The Vertical Flight Society's annual Design-Build-Vertical-Flight competition is intended to motivate and inspire engineering students to consider working in the advanced air mobility sector, developing eVTOL aircraft technology. Seven university teams were recognized in this year's event, with the University of Michigan coming out on top.

Administrators liquidating the assets of battery technology group Oxis Energy are taking bids for 43 patent families covering lithium-sulfur systems and other new applications and designs. The company went into administration on May 19 after failing to secure fresh investment, despite having secured partnerships with electric aviation companies such a Bye Aerospace and Safran.

The VoloDrone is expected to start business-to-business services in the next three years, carrying payloads of up to around 440 pounds over distances of 25 miles. The unmanned aircraft will use an autonomous flight control system jointly developed by Germany's Volocopter and U.S.-based robotics specialist Near Earth Autonomy. The partners plan a beyond visual line of sight flight demonstration in 2022.

The first of the converted King Airs is being flight tested at Mojave in California as Merlin Air works with its partner Dynamic Aviation to secure FAA approval for a supplemental type certificate. The partnership calls for up to 55 of Dynamic's King Airs to be converted for autonomous operations in a variety of pubic- and private-sector roles, provided as a service to clients.

Manhattan-based start-up Kelekona says it is starting to build a scaled model of an eVTOL aircraft based on a blended wing, or lifting body, airframe concept. The search for premises and ambitions to start flight testing the design under an FAA experimental license by early 2022 have led to plans for a new funding round to start in late July.

Apart from what is visible in three photos released on May 25, almost nothing is known about the technology EHang is using for the VT-30 eVTOL aircraft, including the hybrid-electric propulsion system that will support a projected range of 187 miles. The Chinese company reported that it has made an initial vertical takeoff and landing, but provided no further details about its plan to bring the aircraft into commercial service for inter-city flights and trips around larger regional areas in China and beyond.

Faradair Aerospace founder and CEO Neil Cloughley says the BEHA aircraft has the potential to disrupt the current economic constraints on regional airline services, with its short-field takeoff and landing performance allowing it to bypass major airports. It has recently added to its list of partners with companies including Dunlop Aircraft Tyres joining the UK-based program.

In April 2021, EASA launched a public consultation over proposed guidance for early-stage machine learning applications, based on joint research conducted with Swiss-based Daedalean. The European aviation safety agency's roadmap envisages various phases of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology being rolled out between now and 2035.

Honeywell believes that its alliance with Japanese automotive technology group Denso could strengthen its plans to support developers of eVTOL aircraft for missions such as air taxi and freight services. The partners say they expect to deliver electric propulsion systems that could support flight testing of new vehicles by around mid-2022. Denso is based in Tokyo and has a significant U.S. operation in Michigan.

Pipistrel is leaning toward a hydrogen propulsion system for the Miniliner family of aircraft, which would carry a pilot and up to 19 passengers on trips of up to around 625 miles. The aircraft would be able to land and take off in less than 2,600 feet, opening up a large number of smaller airfields to regional airline service for the first time.