FutureFlight

As part of a $52 billion strategic investment, South Korean auto manufacturer Hyundai plans to have a flying car prototype build by 2023 and be ready to start air taxi service in 2029.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia would not let EHang and its local partner Eastcap Berhad conduct a demonstration flight with the 216 AAV aircraft. However, Malaysia does appear to have interest in participating in the emerging urban air mobility industry.

Cranfield Aerospace Solutions is teaming with Rolls-Royce and other partners to re-engine the Britten-Norman Islander fixed wing utility aircraft.

Honeywell is making an undisclosed investment in artificial intelligence specialist Daedalean and will work with the Swiss company to develop autonomous flight control systems.

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.