FutureFlight

Airbus is content to take the rest of the decade to bring the four-seater eVTOL model to market, arguing that the business viability for urban air mobility has yet to be fully defined. The aerospace group is preparing to start flight tests with the CityAirbus NextGen as it steps up work with multiple international partners to prepare early use cases, including scheduled shuttle routes, ecotourist flights, and emergency medical services

Shortly after Beta Technologies’ Alia electric airplane prototype completed its three-month deployment at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida last month, it spent more than a week in Savannah, Georgia, where the U.S. Air National Guard used it for a series of military training exercises, the Vermont-based aircraft developer announced February 12. 

Operators of Lilium's six-passenger eVTOL aircraft will be able to use a new vertiport at Orlando International Airport as a hub for services across central Florida. State legislators are considering a bill that would support the adoption of advanced air mobility.

Dubai’s government in the UAE has granted Joby Aviation exclusive access to the local market for eVTOL air taxi services in a move that excludes other manufacturers and operators for six years. Under an agreement signed with the emirate’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA), operations are expected to begin no later than early 2026, but possibly from 2025, when Joby also intends to start services in U.S. markets with its four-passenger, piloted aircraft.

Piasecki Aircraft Corp (PiAC) is stepping up its plans to bring a hydrogen-powered helicopter to market by the end of the decade. Development work that has been significantly boosted by support from the U.S. Air Force now involves the evolution of a 660-kilowatt test rig for the propulsion system into an iron bird unit that will pave the way for a full-scale prototype the company aims to start flying in 2028.

The FAA has accepted Joby Aviation’s certification plan for the electric propulsion system on its eVTOL aircraft, notching another milestone on the path to commercialization, the company announced February 9. According to Joby, the newly accepted certification plan covers the aircraft’s electric propulsion unit—including motors, gearboxes, nacelles, coolant pumps, and electrical wiring—as well as the propeller system and variable pitch actuators.

The FAA has granted rival eVTOL developers Joby and Archer the Part 145 repair station certificates they will need to perform maintenance on the eVTOL air taxis they aim to bring to market in 2025. The companies are believed to be among the first eVTOL manufacturers to earn Part 145 authorization.

Joby and Archer, both of which are based in California, aim to launch and operate their own commercial air taxi services with their respective four-passenger eVTOL air taxis after they obtain FAA type certification, which they expect to earn by the end of this year.

Chinese eVTOL aircraft maker EHang this week rolled out a public-private partnership aimed at boosting the adoption of advanced air mobility (AAM) in Guangzhou. The agreement, announced on February 6, could include an as-yet-unspecified role for Guangzhou Automobile Group Co (GAC) in the production of the two-seat autonomous EH216-S model. In return, EHang may become involved in GAC's plans to develop a flying car called GOVE.

Beta Technologies’ Alia prototype conducted a public flight demonstration in Louisiana on February 7, marking the first flight of an electric aircraft in the Bayou State, according to the Vermont-based manufacturer. The Alia aircraft arrived in Louisiana on February 5, two weeks after it wrapped up a three-month deployment on a U.S. Air Force base in Florida.  

The U.S. Air Force has awarded military airworthiness approval for Reliable Robotics’ remotely piloted Cessna 208 Caravan, a single-engine turboprop that the California-based company has retrofitted with an autonomous flight control system. This approval grants Reliable Robotics permission to begin flight-testing the experimental aircraft in collaboration with the USAF, which is interested in utilizing the company’s aircraft-agnostic autonomy kit on large aircraft such as the KC-135 Stratotanker.