FutureFlight

Charter booking platform KinectAir aims to deploy Electra's nine-passenger eSTOL aircraft on point-to-point regional air mobility services in the U.S. Pacific Northwest region from 2027. Under an agreement with Electra, Part 135 operators in its network would own and operate up to 30 of the hybrid-electric fixed-wing model, which is expected to have a range of up to 400 nm.

Australia’s Kite Magnetics has introduced its 120-kilowatt electric propulsion unit (EPU), which is intended for electric aviation applications that could include conventional fixed-wing aircraft, as well as eVTOL and eSTOL designs, high-altitude satellites, and wing-in-ground craft. The company plans to announce its first flight test partner in March as part of an effort to build operational data over the next 12 months.

Solithor says its patented nano-solid composite electrolytes and nano-anodes technology, combined with a new pouch-cell design, could deliver significant improvements in the energy density of batteries for electric regional aircraft and eVTOL vehicles. It is working with aerospace group Sonaca to bring the batteries to market and integrate them with aircraft.

The United Arab Emirates’ Strategic Development Fund is investing $3 million in Mayman Aerospace’s plans to bring the remotely piloted Speeder VTOL aircraft to market. The capital injection announced on February 22 is the latest investment in the advanced air mobility sector by the venture capital arm of the Tawazun Council, which oversees the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund.

Collins Aerospace will provide the inceptor sidestick controls for the Lilium Jet eVTOL aircraft. Under an agreement announced on February 23, the companies said their engineers will work together to design and develop inceptors that meet the same safety and performance as equipment already in service on commercial airliners.

The FAA has confirmed that Skyryse’s automated flight control system has met all of its means-of-compliance requirements, clearing the way for it to complete applications for supplemental type certificates (STCs) to convert existing aircraft, starting with the Robinson R66 light helicopter. According to the company, the outcome of a recently completed system review means that the U.S. air safety agency will not require additional rulemaking to cover any aspect of the system’s hardware, software, or human factor components.

AMSL Aero, an advanced air mobility start-up based in Sydney, says it has conducted the first tethered hover flight tests with a prototype of its all-electric, five-seat Vertiia eVTOL aircraft. This is the first time that an eVTOL aircraft designed and built in Australia has flown, according to AMSL. The company says the all-electric Vertiia will be the most energy-efficient in the world, with a range of about 250 kilometers (155 miles) on a single charge.

Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau has accepted Volocopter’s request to process its application to type certify its two-seat VoloCity eVTOL aircraft concurrently with the European air safety agency EASA. The German manufacturer is also working on type certification with the FAA and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

Birmingham Airport in the UK is following in the footsteps of Rotterdam The Hague Airport in the Netherlands and Scotland's AGS airports group to prepare the infrastructure to support flights by hydrogen-powered regional airliners. It is working with ZeroAvia, which aims to have approval for a converted 10- to 19-seat aircraft to enter service in 2025.

The AirCraft Company, a new start-up based in Wichita, Kansas, has revealed its plans to produce a hybrid-electric, 30-seat regional airliner. Called the Pangea SY30J, this spacious and accessible airplane will have a range about 250 miles (400 km) on battery power, and a SAF- or hydrogen-powered range extender could increase the range to more than 500 miles (800 km).