FutureFlight

German startup Baaz believes that the longer range and greater flexibility resulting from the distinctive folding wing design of its B5 model, will set it apart from other eVTOL aircraft. The new model also features a distinctive propulsion system based on five sets of ducted fans and a five-seat cabin that can be quickly reconfigured for different applications.

Bye Aerospace is edging closer to being able to start deliveries of its eFlyer 2 two-seat, electric fixed-wing aircraft, with the first fuselage now in serial production and FAA type certification nearing. The U.S. company is reporting a sales backlog of 717 units, also including the larger eFlyer 4 and Envoy models.

Advanced air mobility ground infrastructure experts Rex Alexander and Yolanka Wulff urged companies seeking to pioneer the launch of eVTOL aircraft operations to start early and leave no detail to chance regarding the preparation of the required ground infrastructure. They point to myriad technical and planning issues, relating to matters such as how land is zoned for use and getting electrical supplies approved and installed.

Government-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries is developing the T629 all-electric, unmanned helicopter for military applications such as search and rescue, anti-ship, and anti-submarine warfare.

A team of 50 aerospace students from the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands is preparing to start flight tests with a lightweight hydrogen-powered prototype called Phoenix PT. The AeroDelft project has ambitions to build a larger aircraft that could carry two passengers.

Planned ground and flight demonstrations with an integrated megawatt-class powertrain system are part of NASA's Electrified Aircraft Propulsion program. The agency is working with the private sector to achieve its objective of seeing hybrid-electric-powered airliners in service by 2035.

Varon Vehicles has enlisted U.S.-based architecture and engineering group PS&S to develop plans and designs for vertiports and other infrastructure needed to support eVTOL aircraft operations in urban areas. PS&S has set up an Urban Air Mobility Task Force to focus on this sector.

EHang this week reported more sets of autonomous flight tests for its all-electric EH216 eVTOL aircraft to test its range and endurance in extreme temperatures. The two-seater was flown empty on flights out to Dong Ao island in the South China Sea near Zhuhai and Hong Kong. Earlier, it had made several sorties in sub-zero weather conditions over a frozen lake near Beijing.

It has taken Dutch company Pal-V more than a decade to establish the basis on which it can certify its flying car under EASA's existing CS-27 regulations covering gyroplanes. With further flight testing still to complete, the type certification process is now expected to be finished in 2022, and Pal V is already taking reservations and making arrangements to start training prospective owners, most of whom are new to aviation.

Joby Aviation's share flotation through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Reinvent Technology Partners is expected to raise sufficient capital to get its five-passenger eVTOL aircraft into commercial service during 2024. Founder JoeBen Bevirt says the company, which has been developing its technology for over 10 years, will be profitable by 2026, with initial net annual revenues of at least $2 billion.