FutureFlight

After completing extensive flight tests with its initial AirCar prototype, Slovakia-based Klein Vision will now build a pre-production version of the flying car, which it aims to bring to market by around the end of 2023. The design features a folding wing and an adjustable tail section to make for a more practical transition between flight and road use for private pilots.

Volocopter and DB Schenker plan to release a blueprint for the use of eVTOL aircraft in cargo operations after completing a proof-of-concept trial in Stuttgart, Germany. The partners evaluated how ground-based staff and equipment could safely interact with the autonomous VoloDrone vehicle, which will be able to carry a payload of up to 440 pounds on flights of up to 25 miles.

Eviation Aircraft says it will start test flights for the redesigned Alice prototype before the end of 2021 and is on track to bring the 11-seat model into commercial service during 2024. The company has taken delivery of the first Magni650 electric propulsion units and also wings, empennage, and wiring interconnections from GKN.

Collins Aerospace says that its new electric motor design is scalable from a power rating of around 100 kW to almost 1 MW. As such, the company believes it is suitable for applications ranging from smaller eVTOL aircraft to conversions of existing fixed-wing turboprop aircraft. Flight testing of the propulsion system on the Airlander 10 airship is due to start in 2023.

ZeroAvia plans to replace the turboprop engines on two Dornier 228 regional airliners with a pair of its 600 kW electric powertrain units and hydrogen fuel tanks that will eventually hold 100 kg of compressed gaseous hydrogen to support a projected range of 500 miles. The company also has secured additional funding to support work on a 50-plus-seat aircraft.

Under a memorandum of understanding, France-based training group Airways Aviation is to receive an unspecified number of VoltAero's Cassio hybrid-electric aircraft. The company plans to launch what it referred to as air taxi operations in the south of France, and will also provide flight training.

A two-seat technology demonstrator eSTOL aircraft is set to start flight testing in 2022, as Electra advances its plans to achieve FAA certification by 2026 for a larger version that would carry a pilot and up to seven passengers. That aircraft is expected to be able to take off and land with less than 150 feet of runway and fly up to 500 miles.

Lawyers defending Archer against claims by rival Wisk that it stole intellectual property for an eVTOL aircraft now claim that the plaintiff applied to patent its design only after hearing about Archer's plans from former employee Tom Muniz. In an opposition court filing, Archer's attorneys also say that the company has never had possession of data files allegedly stolen from Wisk by another former employee.

Blade Air Mobility's provisional agreement with Eve Urban Mobility Solutions is the latest in a series of deals with eVTOL aircraft developers, also including Beta Technologies and Wisk. Eve has committed to supporting up to 60,000 flight hours by supplying as many as 60 aircraft to as-yet-unnamed operators in South Florida and on the U.S. West Coast.

Hyundai Motor Group's Urban Air Mobility Division is to work with drone operations and traffic management specialist Anra Technologies to develop the operating environment for planned eVTOL aircraft services. Anra specializes in unmanned air traffic management technology and drone operations.