FutureFlight

Aerodrome automation system developer Altaport has signed new partnership agreements with six companies to create a comprehensive vertiport management system, combining multiple systems into a single modular platform to facilitate the handling of high-volume ground operations for eVTOL aircraft and cargo drones.

Blueskeye AI, a U.K.-based software development company that specializes in facial analysis using artificial intelligence, recently received a £20,000 award to investigate how facial sensing technology could glean information about human behavior in aircraft cockpits. The technology could be used to identify fatigue, pain, and mental health issues that could affect a pilot's performance.

Beta Technologies has added a 10th location to its network of electric recharging stations with an installation at Augusta Regional Airport in Georgia. The eVTOL aircraft developer is working on plans for similar installations, which will support multiple types of electric aircraft and ground vehicles, at more than 50 other U.S. locations.

Rotorcraft industry leaders addressing the Helicopter Investor conference last week in London expressed measured optimism over prospects for the emerging advanced air mobility sector. There was consensus that new eVTOL aircraft will start to be used for some current helicopter use cases, albeit most speakers expressed doubt that this will start happening from 2025, as many of the more bullish market entrants are insisting.

A letter of intent signed by Ferrovial Airports and Eve Air Mobility calls for the companies to collaborate on infrastructure development for U.S. and European eVTOL operations. Eve’s urban ATM software serves as the centerpiece of the partnership.

Lyte Aviation this week unveiled plans for a pair of high-capacity, long-range VTOL aircraft aimed at both cargo- and passenger-carrying applications. The European start-up seeks to produce a full-scale prototype of the LA-44 SkyBus, intended to carry up to 40 passengers, within the next 24 months.

Swedish electric airplane maker Heart Aerospace and the government of Åland will collaborate on the deployment of Heart’s hybrid-electric regional airliner, the ES-30, on the Baltic Sea group of islands.

Destinus this week received two grants from the Spanish government to support its efforts to develop hydrogen propulsion for planned long-range hypersonic and supersonic aircraft. Eventually, it wants to bring a 100-passenger airliner into commercial service than can fly at globe-shrinking speeds of Mach 5.

Avions Mauboussin has flown a subscale model of its planned Alérion M1h two-seat fixed-wing aircraft. The French start-up intends to develop a hybrid-electric version of the model before following up with a hydrogen-powered version.

The flight with a battery-electric M1h model happened on February 23 but was not reported by Avions Mauboussin until this week. The company is conducting tests at the Montbéliard-Courcelles airfield near its headquarters at Belfort in eastern France.

Archer Aviation and United Airlines plan to launch an aerial ridesharing service in Chicago using Archer’s four-passenger Midnight eVTOL aircraft. The commercial air taxi route, scheduled to launch in 2025, will transport passengers between O’Hare International Airport and Vertiport Chicago, the city’s only downtown heliport facility.