FutureFlight

Eviation Aircraft was preparing the first prototype of its all-electric Alice aircraft for its first flight when a fire broke out during ground testing of power systems. The company has yet to determine what impact the event may have on the flight test schedule.

Japanese carmaker Toyota has become a lead investor in eVTOL startup Joby Aviation, which now appears to have sufficient funding to bring its S4 model to market.

Health and usage monitoring systems provide vital maintenance support for large helicopters and a new lightweight, flexible system is now available for much smaller eVTOL aircraft.

At least two Russian organizations, including Yakovlev and KNITU, are working on designs for new vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, but it remains unclear when these may be ready to go into production and on what terms.

Frost & Sullivan's new study predicts that as many as 430,000 urban air taxies will be in service worldwide, with operations beginning as soon as 2022.

Canadian operator Harbour Air flew a six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver powered by a Magnix 750-hp magni500 electric engine on December 10. It hopes to start scheduled flights with an all-electric fleet by the end of 2021.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has granted Design Organization Approval to eVTOL aircraft developer Volocopter.

EmbraerX has studied Sao Paulo, the world's busiest city for helicopters, and concluded that ultimately the air traffic environment has to consist of automated aircraft in an automated system, if it is to scale to the levels envisages with the safety that regulators will require. Helping to drive that could be the fact the aviation industry is already struggling to train enough pilots and air traffic controllers for regular operations, while also facing high forecast growth and pressure to modernise and improve.

Frederic Laugere from the UK Civil Aviation Authority outlines how the agency is supporting innovation in aviation and has created three services as part of its Innovation Services unit: the Gateway, Sandbox and Regulatory laboratories.

Attendees at the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) session during Foresight Aerospace's conference in London on December 5 seemed to agree that issues such as regulation and insurance and air traffic management failings, could stall an industry bursting to bring manned electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft into operation.