FutureFlight

The UK’s Connected Places Catapult is looking to select up to a dozen small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in its second Future of Air Mobility Accelerator (FoAM) program.

Hydrogen propulsion is emerging as an increasingly favored path to net zero carbon air transport, with several companies working on technology for both new and converted aircraft. But certifying hydrogen-powered aircraft is just one part of the equation, with the industry facing myriad complex considerations about how the operations will be supported, and how environmentally sustainable and commercially viable they might prove to be in practice.

The UK’s Connected Places Catapult consortium has published a white paper summarizing the potential for air services on routes spanning 25 to 100 miles in a larger eVTOL aircraft that would carry 30 to 50 passengers.

The British public has given a conditional thumbs up to the new electric and potentially autonomous aircraft being proposed by the ambitious companies vying for leadership in the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector. A new report commissioned by the government-backed UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) provides firsthand insights into social attitudes toward eVTOL air taxi services, so-called regional air mobility using new low- and zero-carbon aircraft, and commercial drone operations.

The funding flow for what McKinsey calls the future air mobility sector has been drying up so far in 2022, according to a report by the management consulting firm. The report addresses the question of whether this trend represents a short-term disruption or a longer-term inflection point.

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) this week outlined its plans for regulating new advanced air mobility (AAM) flight operations, including remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). Companies pioneering the development of these services, including ground infrastructure group Skyportz, welcomed the RPAS and AAM Strategic Regulatory Roadmap.

EASA this week published proposed rules governing the operation of new eVTOL air taxi services in cities. The proposed regulatory framework, which the European aviation safety agency says is the first of its kind in the world, is now open for public consultation through Sept. 30, 2022.

The FAA provoked rapidly rising blood-pressure levels among eVTOL aircraft developers with its awkwardly communicated change in approach to certifying the new vehicles. The apparent policy reversal hinged on a determination that winged eVTOL designs meeting the U.S. air safety regulator’s definition of “powered lift” could not be certified or operate as conventional “airplanes.”

A whispered ghostly voice saying “if you build it they will come” was all it took to persuade Kevin Costner’s lead character in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams to make a baseball park appear in an Iowa cornfield. This seems to be the message that multiple advanced air mobility (AAM) pioneers are channeling in their quest to establish the vertiports and other infrastructure needed to get eVTOL air taxi operations up and running.

Deloitte buys into the widespread high expectations for the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector, but—as one might expect from a company grounded in accountancy—wants to crunch numbers with dollar signs attached to assess its potential. In its new study, AAM: Disrupting the Future of Mobility, the consulting group seeking to assess its prospects from a consumer point of view and considers how eVTOL aircraft will be able to compete with existing modes of transportation.