FutureFlight

Japanese “flying car” developer SkyDrive has started building the first prototype of its three-seat SD-05 eVTOL aircraft. On March 7, the company announced it has started assembling the first parts in a joint operation with automotive manufacturer Suzuki Motor Corporation, through a subsidiary called Sky Works.

Airbus is stepping up ground testing of propulsion systems, flight controls, and avionics as it prepares to start flight testing the four-seat eVTOL aircraft by the end of 2024. On Thursday, it opened its new advanced air mobility development center in Donauwörth, Germany.

Signature Aviation is teaming up with Beta Technologies to bring electric aircraft chargers to its FBOs across the U.S. East Coast. The business aviation services group inaugurated its first Beta charging station on Thursday at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire. 

Although Southeast Asia’s nascent advanced air mobility industry is picking up steam, it’s mostly Western eVTOL aircraft developers that have so far announced plans to launch commercial air taxi services in the region. Now an Indonesian company is throwing its hat in the ring with plans for a four-passenger model that could be the country's first new civil aircraft to enter service in the 21st century.

The FAA has granted Textron eAviation’s Pipistrel an exemption from the light sport aircraft (LSA) regulations, allowing the company’s Velis Electro electric-powered airplane to operate under LSA regulations in the U.S. This means that flight training schools and individual pilots can now fly the Velis Electro without restrictions that until now relegated them to experimental airworthiness limitations.

Transcend Air now plans to replace electric motors in its hybrid-electric tiltwing VTOL design with a magnetic levitation propulsion system developed by MagLev Aero. The companies say the tailfin-mounted units will be much quieter than traditional rotorcraft tail rotors.

Whisper Aero CEO Mark Moore revealed a concept for a 100-passenger electric aircraft called the "Whisper Jetliner" at the Ohio Air Mobility Symposium this week. The company has submitted a proposal for the design to NASA's Advanced Aircraft for Sustainable Aviation program, which the agency launched last year to "stimulate innovation and the development of advanced conceptual designs and technologies for commercial subsonic aircraft that could enter service around 2050."

Hybrid-electric powertrain pioneer Ampaire is further expanding its portfolio of sustainable flight solutions with the acquisition of Magpie Aviation, a start-up that’s developing an autonomous “aerotow” to extend the range of large electric aircraft by tugging them through the atmosphere.