FutureFlight

TCab Tech this week reported it has started flight testing an early skeleton technology demonstrator for the five-seat E20 eVTOL aircraft the Chinese company is developing. According to a company statement issued on August 15, engineering teams have successfully completed a series of tests, including system joint debugging and a ballast durability assessment, as well as both tethered and untethered flight testing.  

Business aviation services group FlyExclusive is to be the first member of the customer advisory group that Textron’s eAviation division is establishing for its new Nexus eVTOL aircraft. The companies announced today that FlyExclusive, which operates private charter flights and a fractional ownership program, will provide Textron with input on the development of the hybrid-electric Nexus, including the perspectives of pilots and passengers.

Chinese business aviation services group Sino Jet is planning to add eVTOL aircraft to its fleet. On Friday, the Hong Kong-based company reported that it had signed an agreement with Aerofugia to buy 100 of its AE200 tiltrotor vehicles.

Rival eVTOL air taxi developers Archer Aviation and Wisk Aero have reached a settlement in their two-year-long legal dispute over allegations of intellectual property theft. In a surprising turn of events, the two California-based competitors have agreed to collaborate on autonomous flight technology that could one day enable unpiloted, passenger-carrying air taxi operations.

ZeroAvia has developed a compressor to ensure the high flow of oxygen its hydrogen fuel cell propulsion systems need to provide electric power for aircraft. The propulsion innovator said the new compressor will have the capacity to support fuel cell systems with a power rating of up to 900 kW, which includes the 600 kW ZA600 powertrain it is developing for aircraft with up to 19 passengers.

It is unclear how badly damaged Vertical Aerospace's VX4 eVTOL prototype aircraft was as a result of an incident during motor failure flight testing at Cotswold Airport in the UK on August 9. The company has planned to bring a second prototype into the flight test program later this year, and this vehicle would include a higher proportion of hardware supplied by official program partners.

Volocopter Receives DA-62 Aircraft To Prepare for eVTOL Operations

A spate of financial-results announcements over the past week paints a vivid picture of haves and have-nots in the advanced air mobility sector. At one end of the spectrum, Joby Aviation’s robust second-quarter balance sheet showed $1.2 billion in cash and short-term investments, while at the other end, rival eVTOL aircraft developer Vertical Aerospace reported it has just £89.7 million ($114.8 million) in its war chest.

The flight test campaign of Aska's four-seat eVTOL aircraft is now in full swing, with a full-scale prototype making several tethered hover flights every day at an airfield in California. Since its first successful hover tests in June, the A5 prototype has been flying about five times per day, Aska co-founder and chief operating officer Maki Kaplinsky told FutureFlight. The A5 vehicle, which Aska refers to as a “flying SUV,” is designed to operate both in the air and on public roads, and the company plans to begin delivering the vehicle to customers in 2026. 

Electric aircraft developer Eviation has outsourced the design work for its nine-seat, all-electric Alice commuter airplane to TLG Aerospace, a Seattle-based engineering firm. As a subcontractor, TLG will develop the production configuration of Eviation’s Alice.