FutureFlight

Signature Aviation is teaming up with Beta Technologies to bring electric aircraft chargers to its FBOs across the U.S. East Coast. The business aviation services group inaugurated its first Beta charging station on Thursday at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire. 

Although Southeast Asia’s nascent advanced air mobility industry is picking up steam, it’s mostly Western eVTOL aircraft developers that have so far announced plans to launch commercial air taxi services in the region. Now an Indonesian company is throwing its hat in the ring with plans for a four-passenger model that could be the country's first new civil aircraft to enter service in the 21st century.

The FAA has granted Textron eAviation’s Pipistrel an exemption from the light sport aircraft (LSA) regulations, allowing the company’s Velis Electro electric-powered airplane to operate under LSA regulations in the U.S. This means that flight training schools and individual pilots can now fly the Velis Electro without restrictions that until now relegated them to experimental airworthiness limitations.

Transcend Air now plans to replace electric motors in its hybrid-electric tiltwing VTOL design with a magnetic levitation propulsion system developed by MagLev Aero. The companies say the tailfin-mounted units will be much quieter than traditional rotorcraft tail rotors.

Whisper Aero CEO Mark Moore revealed a concept for a 100-passenger electric aircraft called the "Whisper Jetliner" at the Ohio Air Mobility Symposium this week. The company has submitted a proposal for the design to NASA's Advanced Aircraft for Sustainable Aviation program, which the agency launched last year to "stimulate innovation and the development of advanced conceptual designs and technologies for commercial subsonic aircraft that could enter service around 2050."

Hybrid-electric powertrain pioneer Ampaire is further expanding its portfolio of sustainable flight solutions with the acquisition of Magpie Aviation, a start-up that’s developing an autonomous “aerotow” to extend the range of large electric aircraft by tugging them through the atmosphere. 

Germany's LBA civil aviation authority this week extended Volocopter’s production organization approval (POA), clearing the way for the company to start serial manufacturing of its two-seat VoloCity eVTOL aircraft. The approval announced on Thursday covers two new Volocopter production and hangar facilities at Bruchsal in Germany that the company built in 2023.

Lyte Aviation has introduced a 19-seat version of its LA-44 hydrogen-electric VTOL aircraft aimed at business and private aviation users. On Thursday, South Korean charter flight start-up Ghenus Air became the prospective launch customer as part of a preorder agreement for 10 aircraft, including three of the new LA-44 X Prime model, four of the 40-seat LA-44 SkyBus, and three of the LA-44C SkyTruck.

Under its new advanced air mobility partnership with Airbus, leasing group LCI will evaluate financing options for the CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL aircraft. LCI has indicated it may introduce new leasing options that would combine aircraft, with infrastructure such as batteries and recharging facilities.

Archer reported it has liquidity of $625 million as it focuses on completing the FAA type certification process for its four-passenger Midnight eVTOL aircraft this year. The company is manufacturing an additional four prototypes and expects to complete 400 flight tests this year, with commercial operations due to start in 2025.