FutureFlight

Beta Technologies’ Alia prototype conducted a public flight demonstration in Louisiana on February 7, marking the first flight of an electric aircraft in the Bayou State, according to the Vermont-based manufacturer. The Alia aircraft arrived in Louisiana on February 5, two weeks after it wrapped up a three-month deployment on a U.S. Air Force base in Florida.  

The U.S. Air Force has awarded military airworthiness approval for Reliable Robotics’ remotely piloted Cessna 208 Caravan, a single-engine turboprop that the California-based company has retrofitted with an autonomous flight control system. This approval grants Reliable Robotics permission to begin flight-testing the experimental aircraft in collaboration with the USAF, which is interested in utilizing the company’s aircraft-agnostic autonomy kit on large aircraft such as the KC-135 Stratotanker. 

Cosmic Aerospace has raised $4.5 million for the development of a long-range, all-electric regional airplane that could enter service by the end of this decade, the Belgian-American start-up announced on Tuesday. The company is developing a 24-passenger airplane called Skylark that it says will deliver a range of up to 1,000 kilometers (more than 600 miles) on a single charge.

Australian air transport group Aviation Logistics has agreed to buy 10 of AMSL Aero’s Vertiia hydrogen fuel cell-powered eVTOL aircraft with an option for 10 more, the companies announced Sunday. The deposit-backed order represents the first for the Sydney-based manufacturer, which has been collaborating with local aeromedical group CareFlight to develop rural and regional healthcare applications for eVTOL aircraft such as the Vertiia.

Danish early-stage investor Sagitta Ventures has joined existing investors in Heart Aerospace to fund a Series B round that raised a further $107 million. This took total funding to $145 million and will provide cash to support work on the 30-seat ES-30 hybrid-electric regional airliner that Heart aims to bring to market before the end of the current decade.

Archer Aviation has completed the first of three phases in the flight test campaign for its Midnight eVTOL air taxi and is on track to begin certification testing with the FAA later this year, the California-based company announced January 31. Archer aims to have the all-electric, four-passenger aircraft in commercial service by the end of 2025, starting with routes between airports and city centers.

At around $334,000, EHang's EH216-S two-seat autonomous eVTOL aircraft costs a fraction of Western-made equipment, with the Chinese manufacturer having announced a suggested retail price effective from April 1.

UK regional airline Loganair this week confirmed plans to launch services with a hydrogen-powered aircraft in Scotland’s Orkney Islands by 2027. Under a memorandum of understanding signed with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS), the companies will collaborate to develop plans for operating Britten-Norman Islander aircraft converted to use a new hydrogen-electric propulsion system.

Lilium has selected supply chain specialist AJW Group to manage and distribute spare parts for the Lilium Jet, a six-passenger eVTOL air taxi that the German start-up aims to bring into commercial service in 2026. As Lilium’s exclusive parts distributor, AJW will play a key role in the manufacturer's aftermarket services business. 

Beta Technologies’ Alia prototype has wrapped up its first deployment with the U.S. Air Force, which is evaluating defense applications for new electric air taxis and eVTOL aircraft. The Vermont-based aircraft developer had its Alia prototype stationed for three months at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle, where the company worked with the Air Force’s 413th Flight Test Squadron to conduct on-base experimentation and operational training.