FutureFlight

Crisalion Mobility is targeting what seems likely to be a second wave of eVTOL aircraft market entrants at the end of the decade with the five-passenger Integrity model it unveiled in November. The Spanish start-up, which is set to launch a Series B funding round in the first quarter of 2024, believes its patented FlyFree propulsion and stability system will set it apart from the crowded field of lift-and-cruise and multicopter vehicles already vying to enter service from 2025.

Private flight provider Flexjet has concluded a simulation exercise with Eve Air Mobility focused on how new eVTOL aircraft could be integrated with its existing helicopter and fixed-wing services. The four-day project was conducted during November from Flexjet’s Tactical Control Centre at the London-area Farnborough Airport, using the Urban Air Traffic Management software that Eve intends to make available to its customers and other eVTOL operators.

Rolls-Royce Plans To Sell Electrical Propulsion Division

Bristow Group has stepped up its plans to be the launch operator for Electra.aero’s hybrid-electric STOL aircraft by placing deposits to secure an initial five delivery positions. The agreement announced on Wednesday is based on a memorandum of understanding the helicopter operator signed with Electra in 2021. It covers a preorder for up to 50 of the aircraft, which will be able to carry nine passengers or cargo.

Under a memorandum of understanding, Oregon's aviation officials have indicated they might need as many as 126 of the single-pilot JA1 Pulse eVTOL aircraft to provide improved emergency-response services across the state's large and challenging terrain. Emergency-response professionals will need to be able to fly the aircraft themselves and then help patients on the ground.

Odys Aviation is working to bring an uncrewed air vehicle (UAV) called Laila to market over the next 24 months, targeting a variety of logistics roles. The newly disclosed project is being advanced at the same time that the California start-up is developing its nine-passenger hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft, which features flap-based thrust vectoring to generate lift and a blown wing.

Autonomous flight pioneers Daedalean and Xwing are teaming up to advance the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in aviation. The partners have agreed to share their data, knowledge, and processes pertaining to AI and machine learning, which both companies are using to develop software for fully autonomous flights using retrofitted airplanes.

Dronamics, a European drone developer that recently became the world’s first cargo drone airline, has its eyes on the UAE as the company prepares to mass-produce its remotely piloted Black Swan freighter. The company has formed a joint venture with the ​​UAE’s Strategic Development Fund to establish a manufacturing facility in the country. Meanwhile, Dubai-based logistics company Aramex, Emirates Post Group, and Qatar Airways plan to integrate the Black Swan into their freight operations.

UK-based Ecojet will lease 70 of ZeroAvia's ZA600 hydrogen fuel cell powertrains through the manufacturer's leasing partner, Monte. It has yet to say which 19-seat regional airliners it will retrofit to enter service from 2025 but has already made a commitment for the larger ZA2000 powertrains that could support 80-seat aircraft.

Securing EASA's design organization approval is a requirement for completing type certification of Lilium's eVTOL aircraft under the European regulator's SC-VTOL rules, and so a key step toward entry into service in 2026. Meanwhile, the company has launched a partnership in China to establish an eVTOL air service network with CITIC Offshore Helicopter in the Greater Bay Area, including Shenzhen, Guangdong, and Hong Kong.