Western U.S. Group Forms Alliance to Advance Hydrogen Propulsion
Founder members of The new Western States Hydrogen Alliance include Korean automotive group Hyundai, which has already announced plans to develop an eVTOL aircraft.
Supersonic Bizjet Pioneer Aerion Teams With eSTOL Developer Electra
Electra is a U.S.-based launched by John Langford, who founded Aurora Flight Sciences. The company has published almost no details on its plans to develop an eSTOL aircraft but has been boosted by a new partnership with supersonic business jet developer Aerion.
Rolls-Royce Confirms Electric Testbed Work at Cranfield
Rolls-Royce has an engineering team working a tiltwing-configured ground testbed with six propellers as it seeks to define propulsion needs for electric and hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft.
Embraer Creates Subsidiary to Advance Urban Air Mobility Plans
The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer has established Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions as a U.S.-based subsidiary spun off from its EmbraerX advanced technology division. However, Embraer has still not published performance details or specifications for the aircraft or said when it will be ready to enter service.
GE to Provide Flight Data Monitoring for Uber eVTOL Operators
GE Aviation's Digital Group is working with Uber to apply its eFOQA software to support the monitoring and analysis of flight data from eVTOL aircraft used to provide Uber Air rideshare services. The technology will be available to Uber partner operators on a voluntary basis.
VoltAero's Hybrid Propulsion System Makes First Flight On Cassio Demonstrator
VoltAero's "power module" combines three 60-kW electric motors and a 370-hp internal combustion engine. The French company says this will support flights of up to almost 750 miles in its three planned Cassio single-pusherprops, seating between four and ten passengers.
Study Raises Hard Questions About eVTOL Air Taxi Markets
Price Systems analyst Nate Sirirojvisuth challenged some of the core assumptions made by advocates of advanced air mobility business models. His new report spells out the questions that he says have to be addressed to provide a realistic assessment of the market potential for eVTOL aircraft services in areas such as the northeastern U.S.
U.S. Justice Department Moves to Ban Foreign Drones From Federally Funded Agencies
The U.S. government's ban on some foreign-made drones appears to be part of a wider effort aimed at reducing Chinese involvement in the unmanned air systems sector. This raises the question of whether similar moves might be made to block China's role in the development of autonomous eVTOL aircraft.
EASA Set to Release VTOL Special Conditions Means of Compliance
Developers of eVTOL aircraft will be able to see details of EASA's Special Conditions VTOL type certification requirements from mid November. They will then have the chance to raise questions during the EASA Rotorcraft and VTOL Symposium on December 9.
Ampaire Achieves Longest Flight Yet With Electric EEL Technology Demonstrator
As it prepares to test the Electric EEL modification of a six-seat Cessna 337 Skymaster with Hawaii-based carrier Mokulele Airlines, Ampaire is now laying plans to apply the hybrid-electric propulsion system to larger aircraft carrying up to around 19 passengers.