FutureFlight

The funding flow for what McKinsey calls the future air mobility sector has been drying up so far in 2022, according to a report by the management consulting firm. The report addresses the question of whether this trend represents a short-term disruption or a longer-term inflection point.

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) this week outlined its plans for regulating new advanced air mobility (AAM) flight operations, including remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). Companies pioneering the development of these services, including ground infrastructure group Skyportz, welcomed the RPAS and AAM Strategic Regulatory Roadmap.

EASA this week published proposed rules governing the operation of new eVTOL air taxi services in cities. The proposed regulatory framework, which the European aviation safety agency says is the first of its kind in the world, is now open for public consultation through Sept. 30, 2022.

The FAA provoked rapidly rising blood-pressure levels among eVTOL aircraft developers with its awkwardly communicated change in approach to certifying the new vehicles. The apparent policy reversal hinged on a determination that winged eVTOL designs meeting the U.S. air safety regulator’s definition of “powered lift” could not be certified or operate as conventional “airplanes.”

A whispered ghostly voice saying “if you build it they will come” was all it took to persuade Kevin Costner’s lead character in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams to make a baseball park appear in an Iowa cornfield. This seems to be the message that multiple advanced air mobility (AAM) pioneers are channeling in their quest to establish the vertiports and other infrastructure needed to get eVTOL air taxi operations up and running.

Deloitte buys into the widespread high expectations for the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector, but—as one might expect from a company grounded in accountancy—wants to crunch numbers with dollar signs attached to assess its potential. In its new study, AAM: Disrupting the Future of Mobility, the consulting group seeking to assess its prospects from a consumer point of view and considers how eVTOL aircraft will be able to compete with existing modes of transportation.

An airport master plan update being drafted for Florida’s Tampa International Airport (KTPA) has brought to light a Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA) Innovative Transit Technologies Feasibility Study that explored urban air mobility options and other cutting-edge alternatives such as air gondolas and hyperloop.

Eve Urban Air Mobility, along with partners working on its plans to develop an ecosystem for eVTOL aircraft flights, last week published a concept of operations (Conops) covering the vast and crowded city of Rio de Janeiro. For the offshoot venture from Brazilian aerospace group Embraer, the document gives the Eve-led team a chance to demonstrate how the new mode of transportation could work on home turf.

Less than a week after EHang’s filing of a 20F annual report statement for the 2021 financial year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has notified the Chinese eVTOL aircraft developer that it has been flagged for accounting procedures scrutiny under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA). The notice, served by the federal regulator on May 4, effectively puts EHang on notice that it needs to use an accountancy firm that meets U.S.

The UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) this week threw down a new gauntlet to challenge the aerospace industry to seize what it characterized as a massive commercial opportunity to make progress toward aviation’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions. The government-backed group’s 2022 technology strategy, published on April 26 under the title Destination Zero, exhorts companies to seize the moment, be more ambitious, and accept greater risk in their technology portfolios.