FutureFlight

Under the Agility Prime program, the U.S. Air Force's Afwerx unit is assessing the suitability of new electric aircraft for a variety of military missions. These include the Alia 250 model being developed by Beta Technologies and also Joby Aviation's eVTOL prototype, both of which are seeking to achieve civil type certification with the FAA by 2024.

Fires caused by electric arcs are a safety concern for electric and hybrid-electric aircraft. With French government funding, Safran's Electrical & Power division is teaming with Pyroalliance to develop technology that could react in a millisecond to guard against this danger. Both companies have extensive experience working with high-voltage aeronautics power systems.

ZeroAvia acknowledged that the accident will disrupt the completion of the HyFlyer 1 project using a six-seater Piper M Series aircraft equipped with its hydrogen propulsion system. However, it is pressing ahead with plans to certify commercial aircraft with between 10 and 50 seats.

Political leaders in both Singapore and Florida have shown support for the integration of eVTOL aircraft into their public transportation networks. These markets are now key focal points for companies that will build and operate the vertiports from which they will operate, but questions remain as to how the competitive landscape for this infrastructure will develop.

ZeroAvia says it is investigating the causes of the unplanned landing of its flying testbed, which may cause some disruption to its intention to evaluate its hydrogen propulsion system for use on larger aircraft. Last month, the company announced plans and new funding to power a 50-seat airliner with hydrogen.

Chinese eVTOL aircraft developer EHang continues to place a strong emphasis on conducting public flight demonstrations and establishing partnerships with communities both in China and Europe. It is unclear when Covid pandemic restrictions will allow plans for flight trials in Austria, Norway, and Spain to resume, but the company has been showing off the EH216 at recent trade fairs and sporting events.

Horizon Aircraft's leadership team will support Astro in developing a trio of eVTOL aircraft designs, including the Cavorite X5, the Elroy, and the Alta. However, Astro is allocating a first-year operating budget of only $1.5 million to support work on the hybrid-electric Cavorite, which is likely to need far higher levels of funding to achieve its projected type certification in 2025.

For years, Randy Tinseth marketed Boeing's airliners around the world. Now he and former EasyJet executive Tony Anderson are joining the leadership team of UK-based Faradair to help it bring the Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft to market.

Stakeholders backing electric aviation and plans for new urban air mobility initiatives had the chance to make the case for more proactive U.S. political leadership in support of their efforts. Those giving evidence to the U.S. House of Representatives this week included MagniX CEO Roei Ganzarski and Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti, as well as Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl.

News of Bye Aerospace's partnership with L3 Harris Technologies comes just a week after the U.S. electric aviation pioneer announced plans to bring its nine-seat eFlyer 800 to market between 2024 and 2026. The aircraft is already being considered by several air taxi, charter, and cargo operators, and may now be offered for military customers.