FutureFlight

Crisalion Mobility To Unveil Integrity eVTOL Aircraft at Dubai Airshow

Spanish start-up Crisalion Mobility plans to introduce its Integrity eVTOL aircraft at next week's Dubai Airshow. The company, which recently rebranded from its former name Umiles Next, says the aircraft will carry a single pilot and five passengers on flights of up to 100 kilometers (63 miles) at a cruise speed of 180 km/h.

Archer Aviation is accelerating the adoption of electric aircraft charging infrastructure developed by rival eVTOL manufacturer Beta Technologies with the purchase of several of Beta's multimodal chargers. Beta says it has delivered two chargers to Archer’s flight test facility in Salinas, California, where Archer is conducting a flight test campaign with its four-passenger Midnight eVTOL air taxi.

The four-passenger eVTOL aircraft will feature Garmin’s G3000 integrated flight deck for the vehicle’s avionics suite, flight control actuators from Liebherr-Aerospace, and Intergalactic's thermal management system. This week, Eve also issued a financial report on its third-quarter balance sheet, confirming that spending on research and development has increased significantly.

To prepare for the impending arrival of new advanced air mobility vehicles such as electric air taxis and cargo drones, Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO) is teaming up with Urban-Air Port to bring vertiport infrastructure to airports around the world. Urban-Air Ports is a British start-up developing space-saving vertiport facilities consisting of vertically stacked hangar modules.

Amprius says it has signed deals with three aerospace developers for the purchase of its next-generation lithium-ion battery cells, which pack an ultra-high energy density of 450 Wh/kg. The California-based battery developer did not disclose the identity of its customers or the volume of the new orders, only that it will be delivering custom battery cells to three “premier electric aviation manufacturers.” 

Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) has made the case for using its planned Airlander 10 airship to provide low-carbon transportation for remote communities in northern Scotland. This week, the UK company released a report outlining the envisaged use case for a vehicle carrying up to 100 passengers or 10 metric tons (22,046 pounds) of freight using small airfields with minimal infrastructure.

Private aviation group Sino Jet is stepping up its plans to be a leader in China’s emerging advanced air mobility (AAM) sector following its announcement in August that it will buy 100 of the AE200 eVTOL aircraft being developed by the Aerofugia subsidiary of the Geely automotive group.

Lilium Appoints ArcosJet as Authorized eVTOL Aircraft Dealer in Middle East

Dubai, UAE-based aircraft broker ArcosJet has become the first authorized dealer for the Lilium Jet eVTOL aircraft in the Middle East. Lilium announced the appointment of its fifth international dealership on October 31, assigning its exclusivity for sales to private owners in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Cyprus. 

Vman Aviation Services is betting that India's growing population and strained transportation infrastructure provide an ideal launch pad for Lyte Aviation's planned LA-44 SkyBus hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft. The lessor has agreed to buy 10 of the 40-seater tandem tiltwing aircraft, which the manufacturer says has a projected range of 1,000 kilometers and will be able to operate from 40-square-meter landing pads.

Vancouver-based rotorcraft operator Helijet agreed to buy up to eight of the five-passenger Alia eVTOL aircraft, with plans to operate these in southwestern British Columbia and the wider Pacific Northwest region from 2026. The Canadian province's carbon tax has created a strong incentive for aircraft operators to consider switching to electric propulsion.