FutureFlight

The Cassio 1 hybrid-electric technology demonstrator left Lorient on France's Atlantic coast on July 5 to make a tour of 10 regional airports around France. VoltAero plans to build three variants of the Cassio family that will seat between 4 and 10 people when they enter service in 2023.

The Beacon maintenance coordination platform connects operators, maintenance providers, aftermarket suppliers, and manufacturers to get aircraft back into service quickly after unscheduled maintenance events. Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions feels that this level of responsiveness will be essential to support the anticipated high volume of eVTOL air taxi operations, which will include the company's own four-passenger eVTOL design.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are increasingly being tapped by developers of new eVTOL aircraft, and more particularly for applications such as autonomous flight operations. Industry standards groups SAE and Eurocae have published new work on the degree to which the standards for this technology are a good fit for aerospace purposes and the gaps that might need to be filled.

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.