FutureFlight

The PilotEye vision system jointly developed by avionics group Avidyne and artificial intelligence specialist Daedalean will support pilots by scanning the sky for hazards and assessing options for possible emergency landings. It also has the potential to support full autonomous operations for new advanced air mobility aircraft.

China's EHang has not confirmed the current production rates for the EH216 eVTOL aircraft, which is still awaiting type certification. Its large new factory at Yunfu started operating in late June and includes facilities for component manufacturing, as well as aircraft assembly, research and development, and training.

Australia’s Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, and Communications recently published its National Emerging Aviation Technologies policy statement, which is expected to result in a stronger framework for developing advanced air mobility across the country. Industry and government leaders will address the sector's opportunities and challenges at a conference in September.

Reinvent Technology Partners co-lead director Reid Hoffman is set to join the board of eVTOL aircraft developer Joby, along with Google's general, counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado, and former Southwest Airlines CFO Laura Wright. Following the anticipated completion of a merger with special purpose acquisition company Reinvent Technology Partners on August 5, the company will trade under the name Joby Aviation and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Archer characterized a U.S. federal court’s denial of Wisk’s motion for a preliminary injunction as a victory in its defense against charges that it was complicit in using stolen trade secrets for its Maker eVTOL technology demonstrator. The full trial is now set to begin in San Francisco on August 11 and is likely to include more extensive testimony from employees of both companies and arguments over the basis for their competing eVTOL aircraft designs.

Through KinectAir's Pioneer fractional ownership program, an unspecified number of VoltAero's four-seat Cassio 330 aircraft will be based at U.S. airports. Shareowners will be able to earn revenue by allowing other people to use the aircraft, but full details for the terms and conditions have yet to be released. The Cassio aircraft is expected to enter service in late 2023 and have a projected range of up to 800 miles.

Embraer’s Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions and private on-demand charter broker Flapper are launching a partnership to serve as a proof-of-concept for future operations of Eve’s eVTOL aircraft in Latin America. The agreement calls for up to 25,000 flight hours to be offered via Flapper's booking platform.

Beam Global's Electric Vehicle Autonomous Renewable Charger uses a moving array to capture energy from the sun before storing it in batteries and then supplying DC power directly to aircraft or ground vehicles. The units operate entirely off-grid and can be quickly installed in space of around the size of a standard car with no construction costs. The California-based company demonstrated the technology's potential application for aviation by making a record-setting flight across the state.

In a presentation to the Electric Aircraft Symposium, Cape Air CEO Dan Wolf conceded that the business case for new propulsion technologies isn't fully confirmed in the regional airline sector. Nonetheless, the carrier is planning to introduce the nine-passenger Eviation Alice electric aircraft to its fleet, operating it on routes of up to around 500 miles once it completes FAA type certification.

Deutsche Aircraft is already working with another German company called H2Fly to build a hydrogen-powered technology demonstrator version of the Dornier 328 regional airliner using H2Fly's fuel-cell system. Now it may opt to integrate Universal Hydrogen's modular fuel capsules into the converted aircraft and through a new partnership is exploring the technical ramifications of this plan.