FutureFlight

The UK's ADS Group, a trade organization for the aerospace, defense, security, and space industry, has published a document urging government and the "aerospace ecosystem" to focus on priorities it says are needed to unlock potential for advanced air mobility.

Advanced air mobility (AAM) has the potential to revolutionize how people get around, with eVTOL air taxis promising to fly passengers over traffic jams in urban settings and other next-generation aircraft enabling regional flights in areas that are underserved by aviation today. With new electric, hydrogen-powered, and hybrid-electric propulsion systems, AAM aircraft can drastically reduce the environmental impact of aviation while simultaneously reducing operating costs, making flights more affordable.

No one says that weaning air transport off its dependence on fossil fuels will be easy. For those with any doubt about the scale of the challenge, however, a new report from the UK’s Royal Society provides sober reading material, concluding that no single path to achieving net zero carbon exists and that the avenues now being explored are all fraught with technological and practical difficulties.

The UK’s Future Aviation Industry Working Group (FWIAG) recently published a three-to-five-year manifesto regarding a strategic airspace integration plan it says could unlock the potential for more efficient air transportation. The "Let’s Get Flying: Our Plan For Action" document addresses how new aircraft, including eVTOL vehicles, could benefit from greater operational flexibility while not reducing access to existing airspace users.

California-based autonomous eVTOL air taxi developer Wisk Aero and the South East Queensland Council of Mayors (COMSEQ) have published a white paper describing the opportunities and benefits that advanced air mobility (AAM) can bring to the Australian region.

Venture capital group Up Partners has released the first in what will be a series of annual reports on trends in transportation, from advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft to road transport and hypersonic and space travel. The Moving World Report is designed to inform investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and students, according to Up.Partners co-founder and managing partner Cyrus Sigari.

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) calls for lawmakers to clarify tax exemptions for advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft and their associated infrastructure. 

As manufacturers of passenger-carrying eVTOL air taxis and cargo-delivery drones prepare to certify their aircraft and introduce them to the burgeoning urban air mobility (UAM) market, researchers are raising concerns over whether these new aircraft can safely operate in windy conditions when flying near buildings. 

The FAA has issued its new and long-awaited heliport planning, design, and construction Advisory Circular 150/5390-2D that provides largely voluntary guidance to the rotorcraft community. This new AC supersedes previously issued guidance from 2012. The U.S. aviation regulator notes that “the standards and guidelines contained in this AC are practices the FAA recommends for establishing an acceptable level of safety, performance, and operation for heliports.”

A new 8K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission provides significant details regarding the terms under which automotive group Stellantis will be providing eVTOL aircraft developer Archer Aviation with $150 million in fresh equity capital.