FutureFlight

The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued an airworthiness certificate for the two-seat autonomous eVTOL vehicle, confirming that EHang has manufactured the first example to conform with the type certificate issued in October.

The purpose of a joint simulation exercise at NASA’s Ames Research Center was to establish how eVTOL air taxi operations can be safely integrated into public airspace. Joby and NASA demonstrated their proposed approach to representatives from the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

In a little more than 12 months, investors in eVTOL aircraft developers have been led to believe they can start expecting commercial returns to start flowing. However, there are still plenty of question marks over the pace and form that the much-vaunted advanced air mobility (AAM) revolution will take. What is clear is that natural selection is taking its course, meaning that just a handful of frontrunners are now vying to be in the first wave to operate the new aircraft.

A new round of testing at Rolls-Royce's Solihull facility in the UK is focused on the engineering challenges associated with taking low-pressure liquid hydrogen, chilled to below minus 250-deg C (minus 418-deg F), and then pressurizing it so that it can be pumped into an aircraft engine to be combusted. It is expected to lead to a ground test run of hydrogen fuel in the Pearl 700 turbofan engine Rolls-Royce developed for business jets.

Lyte and KookieJar Lay Plans For Cargo Delivery Vertiports

The December 19 announcement by public charter operator JSX that it will renew and expand its fleet with up to 332 hybrid-electric aircraft potentially marks one of the biggest decarbonization initiatives in commercial air transport to date. The agreements with three manufacturers—Electra, Aura Aero, and Heart Aerospace—include aircraft seating between 9 and 30 passengers, which JSX feels could be the start of a step-change in regional air services across the U.S.

Community leaders from the Lofoten islands in Norway’s Arctic region are making plans to use new electric aircraft. Under a letter of intent signed on December 18, Lofoten Green Islands and Elfly Group have agreed to jointly develop sustainable regional air transport services that could use the Norwegian start-up’s in-development Noemi seaplane.

Overair has completed assembly of the first full-scale prototype of its Butterfly eVTOL aircraft and says it will be ready to start flight testing early in 2024. Announcing the program milestone on Tuesday, the company said the flight testing of the tiltrotor model will validate the proprietary Optimum Speed Tilt Rotor (OSTR) and Individual Blade Control (IBC) technology  it says will give its vehicle an edge in terms of performance, reliability and low noise levels.

EHang this week achieved a breakthrough in its efforts to get established in the Gulf region’s emerging advanced air mobility sector, signing a purchase agreement of 100 of its EH216 autonomous eVTOL aircraft with Abu Dhabi-based Wings Logistics Hub. Announcing the strategic partnership on Monday, the Chinese manufacturer said it has also joined the Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industries (SAVI) Cluster established in October.

Much like the lithium-ion batteries that power our smartphones, the batteries that will power electric aircraft are destined to degrade over time. For smartphone users, battery performance issues after a few years of use might indicate that it’s time to replace your device.