FutureFlight

Airbus appears to be focusing all its efforts to develop more environmentally sustainable aircraft on hydrogen-powered propulsion systems. It remains to be seen how the company may proceed with earlier technology demonstrator designs that have been all-electric.

EHang's trial flight permit will help it move into the European market, by allowing the company to demonstrate the benefits of the EH216 autonomous aerial vehicle to regulators, customers, and partners. The test flight conducted for the permit process further demonstrated the utility of the EH216 as it occurred during inclement weather.

Blade's agreement to be acquired by Experience Investment and be listed on Nasdaq is anticipated to close in the first half of 2021. The transaction is expected to result in $400 million in gross proceeds that Blade said will enable it to expand its urban air mobility routes, build up its passenger infrastructure, and accelerate plans to transition from conventional aircraft to eVTOL aircraft.

Volocopter and ADAC Luftrettung are building on a two-year partnership that has already yielded a detailed study in to how eVTOL aircraft could be used to get first responders to accident scenes more effectively than ambulances or helicopters.

United Therapeutics has told China's EHang that it will buy 1,000 of its Autonomous Aerial Vehicles if the company can complete the development of a longer-range version. The group is also backing Beta Technologies with its Alia 250 design and Eco Helicopters' plans to convert the Robinson R-44 helicopter to electrical power.

Eviation Aircraft now says that it is aiming to complete type certification of the nine-passenger Alice by the end of 2023. It has made several design changes to the latest version of its prototype.

European start-up Manta Aircraft is looking to use rapid prototyping techniques from the motorsport industry to fast-track the development of its family of hybrid-electric aircraft that will operate in both short takeoff and landing or vertical takeoff and landing modes.

Following evaluation as part of the Agility Prime program, the U.S. Air Force has granted airworthiness approval for Joby Aviation's four-seat eVTOL aircraft, clearing the way for it to be used to carry cargo and personnel in military operations.

Daher, Airbus, Safran, and France's CORAC civil aviation research council are partnering to advance the EcoPulse program to bring a distributed-propulsion hybrid-electric airplane to market.

MagniX's electric propulsion system is set to replace fossil-fuel-dependent engines on a variety of fixed-wing aircraft, including the Cessna Caravan and the de Havilland Beaver.