FutureFlight

White House Picks Supernal Exec Mike Whitaker To Lead FAA

Hydrogen propulsion pioneer H2Fly’s efforts to bring the technology to the air transport sector were energized by the breakthrough flight of its HY4 demonstrator aircraft at Maribor Airport in Slovenia last week. Co-founder and CEO Josef Kallo was visibly pleased when talking to media on the sidelines of the event, describing it as “a major milestone” and “world’s first.”

Scottish regional airline Loganair is evaluating options to bring new electric aircraft into its fleet. The carrier's head of sustainability says it needs to do more work to ensure that the business case for decarbonization would stack up, with operating economics that would support affordable airfares.

Bristow Helicopters has placed a firm order for two Volocopter VoloCity eVTOL aircraft with the option to purchase up to 78 additional vehicles in the future. The two companies have also signed a joint development agreement in which they pledged to collaborate on several aspects of the urban air mobility ecosystem, including infrastructure and regulations.

Emergency services provider Falck has agreed to purchase a JA1 Pulse eVTOL aircraft from California-based Jump Aero. This is the first commercial order for the single-seat JA1, which is designed to carry a pilot-medic to the site of a medical emergency as quickly as possible to render lifesaving aid.

SkyDrive is embarking on a joint research project with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to study ways to estimate, evaluate, and reduce the noise produced by eVTOL aircraft. The Tokyo-based start-up, which is developing a three-seat eVTOL air taxi, has been using JAXA’s largest wind tunnel since 2021 to evaluate the aerodynamics of its rotors. Now SkyDrive will employ the wind tunnel facility and JAXA's new noise-analysis technology to pinpoint and reduce the sources of noise emitted by the rotors.

At the Revolution.Aero conference in San Francisco, Joby Aviation head of product Eric Allison assured attendees that Joby expects its eVTOL aircraft to begin commercial operations in 2025. A majority of team members are working on the certification program, including type certification and production certification, he said.

South Korean leasing company Solyu has signed a letter of intent with Eviation covering 25 Alice all-electric commuter aircraft. The LOI, which also calls for an option on another 25 aircraft, marks the first such “order” for the nine-seat Alice since Eviation outsourced its design work to Seattle-based engineering firm TLG Aerospace.

Bristow Secures First Deliveries of Elroy Air's Chaparral Aircraft

A group of leading companies in the UK aviation and renewable energy sectors has established the Hydrogen in Aviation (HIA) alliance to accelerate the delivery of zero-carbon aviation, the companies said Tuesday. HIA, whose partners also include Airbus, Rolls-Royce, EasyJet, Ørsted, GKN Aerospace, and Bristol Airport, said decarbonization efforts involving the direct use of hydrogen should assume more urgency at a time sustainable aviation fuel and batteries have drawn so much of the sector’s attention.