FutureFlight

Joby Aviation is building the fuselages of its eVTOL aircraft with prepreg carbon fiber composite materials supplied by Japan's Toray Advanced Composites.

Expectations are mounting that Uber Technologies may sell all or part of its Uber Elevate urban air mobility division in the face of continued losses at the ride-hailing group. With Joby Aviation and Hyundai reportedly front runners to do a deal, this raises questions about ramifications for other participants in the planned Uber Air service.

Ampaire's Electric EEL technology demonstrator is halfway through a month-long flight trial program with Hawaiian regional carrier Mokulele Airlines, which is one of 15 operators that have signed letters of interest in adding hybrid-electric aircraft to their fleets.

Diamond Aircraft's Chinese parent group Wanfeng has agreed to work with the Wolong Electric Drive Group to advance technologies such as the use of magnesium allow in electric motors to power aircraft. Diamond produces a family of light aircraft at its facilities in Canada.

The Airbus VSR700 optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) recently made fully autonomous takeoff and landing (ATOL) approaches to and from a DeckMotion moving platform simulator—a pitching, yawing surface, mounted on a trailer to simulate the conditions of a moving ship deck. The small rotorcraft, derived from the Helicopteres Guimbal Cabri G2, used Airbus’s DeckFinder technology to locate and interface with the DeckMotion simulator. 

Embraer's new Eve division will work with air navigation service provider Airservices Australia to develop a draft concept of operations for eVTOL aircraft flights in cities like Melbourne. Air traffic management technology and processes are a key part of this work.

Airflow concluded that all-electric propulsion would not deliver sufficient payload and range to meet the rapidly changing needs of logistics companies, which need to be able to serve regional routes of up to 300 miles.

From its base in eastern France, Avions Mauboussin is seeking to build a green future with two new fixed-wing aircraft.

China's General Office of the State Council has issued a "circular" giving approval for government officials to speed up plans to regulate operations by new aircraft being developed for urban air mobility services. However, the document does not provide a detailed timeline for initiatives.

After some delays, partly caused by the Covid pandemic, Samad Aerospace has begun flight testing a half-scale model of its e-Starling all-electric aircraft and says that a full-scale prototype could be ready to fly in 2023.