FutureFlight

BAE Systems is reducing the size and weight of its energy management and engine controls technology to be used with propulsion systems for new hybrid-electric and electric aircraft. The company has already produced equipment that is 40 percent smaller and lighter than units now in service on much larger turbofans, while claiming that they will deliver 10 times the processing power.

Private aviation startup Kinect Air has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support its plans to provide a mix of on-demand, per-seat charter and fractional ownership. The company, which intends to offer a mixed fixed-wing fleet before later adding new hybrid electric and eVTOL aircraft as these enter service, is in the process of establishing air operator certificates in both the U.S. and UK.

Airbus has completed two years of flight testing for its Autonomous Taxi, Take-Off, and Landing (ATTOL) project. The work culminated in a fully automatic, vision-based flight of an A350-1000 widebody airliner, achieved through the use of on-board image recognition technology, which the manufacturer described as a world-first in a June 29 press statement.

Hydrogen fuel cell propulsion pioneer ZeroAvia this week flew its powertrain in a six-seat Piper M-Class aircraft, using electric batteries. The flight was made on June 23 from Cranfield University’s airfield in the UK where it is working on the government-backed HyFlyer program to advance zero-emissions aviation.

Honeywell has developed a new air conditioning system for urban air mobility (UAM) and electric aircraft. The first to be equipped with the new oil-free Micro Vapor Cycle System (MicroVCS) will be Eviation’s in-development Alice conventional takeoff and landing electric commuter airplane. 

SkyDrive is part of the Cartivator Resource Management consortium, which has drawn support for a flying car program from a wide array of Japansese corporations in a bid to advance urban air mobility in the country.

Honeywell is forming a new Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) business unit to advance the aerospace group’s ambitions in the fast-emerging UAS and urban air mobility (UAM) sectors. The new division, announced today, will have its own engineering and sales resources and will offer aircraft systems, including avionics, hybrid and electric propulsion, thermal management, air traffic management, and ground services such as predictive maintenance.

Urban Aeronautics is developing the CityHawk VTOL and Cormorant unmanned aircraft programs in tandem. Both models currently have turbine propulsion, but the Israeli company intends to offer a hydrogen-powered version of the CityHawk.

Wisk has resumed flying with its Cora eVTOL aircraft after flight testing was interrupted by government restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 emergency. The company, which is a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, announced today that it has restarted flights with four prototypes at its sites New Zealand and California.

EASA this week announced the world’s first full type certification for a fully electric aircraft, issuing approval for Pipistrel’s Velis Electro two-seat trainer. The type certificate follows the European agency’s earlier approval on May 18 of the E-811-268MVLC motor that powers the light single.