FutureFlight

Abu Dhabi-based business aviation group Falcon Aviation plans to open a network of terminal buildings to provide ground infrastructure for urban air mobility services.

Just over six months since the early June crash on its fifth test flight, Boeing's Passenger Air Vehicle eVTOL aircraft prototype is due to resume its flight test program early in 2020.

Some say regulators like the FAA should give aircraft manufacturers a more direct regulatory incentive to introduce additional safety features, such as parachutes.

Safety redundancy to protect against possible system failures in new vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft will be critical to getting them certified for use and accepted by customers. Some manufacturers are planning to provide an extra layer of protection in the shape of a ballistic parachute designed to land the aircraft safely on the ground in the event of loss of control. It’s an approach that is already in use with Cirrus’s popular single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft.

Electric aircraft developer Eviation has become the latest aerospace start-up company to use Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE digital design and engineering software to support all phases of its work to bring the new Alice aircraft into service. The Cloud-based platform, developed by Dassault to support its family of combat and business jets, is also being used by leading aerospace groups such as Airbus, Boeing, Bell, and Lockheed Martin, as well as by newcomers such as supersonic jet developer Boom, Joby Aviation, and the Solar Impulse team.

Groups including NBAA, GAMA, AIA, VFS and NATA have much to offer the emerging urban air mobility sector, especially through their strong connection to aviation regulators around the world.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Workhorse has agreed to sell its SureFly electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) program to Moog for $4 million. Workhorse flew a prototype of the two-seat model in 2018  and last November signed a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense to test SureFly for specific military applications.

The Community Air Mobility Initiative (CAMI) has been formed around the emerging urban air mobility (UAM) industry and will assist in its development, as well as aid cities with the integration of such systems, according to the Seattle-based nonprofit organization. “New technologies and new aircraft promise to make flight accessible and practical on a daily basis for more people than ever before,” said CAMI co-executive director Anna Dietrich. “With that promise comes the responsibility to integrate those aircraft into our communities safely, responsibly, and equitably. We created CAMI as the industry’s commitment to our neighbors and the decision-makers who support them to work to ensure that happens.”

Oxis says lithium-sulfur batteries will provide a significantly higher energy density than existing lithium-ion cells, resulting in a two-fold reduction in weight. It is working to develop these with Bye Aerospace for its eFlyer aircraft, but also plans to offer the technology to eVTOL aircraft developers.

Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer EHang filed papers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 31 to prepare the way for an anticipated $100 million initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq.