Month: November 2022

SkyDrive announced on November 28th that they’ve signed a MoU with Pacific Group Co Ltd, a leading renewable energy company and investment promotion with international funds in Vietnam, for pre-order of 10 SkyDrive SD-05 eVTOL’s with options for up to 90 additional, or 100 total. Pacific Group has also agreed to explore sustainable and easily accessible new mobility solutions focused on the...

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Ampaire’s Eco Caravan, a nine-seat regional aircraft, has just made its first flight on a fully-integrated hybrid-electric propulsion system. Ampaire expects it to be the first electrified regional aircraft to enter commercial service (certification in 2024), and the first in a series of larger Ampaire hybrid-electric aircraft that will lead a transition to sustainable aviation. The first flight was 33...

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Adacel, a global expert in advanced air traffic control solutions, has recently announced the opening of a new office in Estonia, furthering the country’s expansion in Europe for its virtual air traffic management solutions. Above: One of Adacel’s Virtual Air Traffic Control solutions in action Adacel is a long-standing provider of advanced air traffic control products and services, in commercial...

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The FAA signed a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) document on November 21st that adds a “powered lift” aircraft to the existing types of air carrier operations, a move that would set the stage for air carrier regulations that would apply specifically to eVTOL and aerial mobility aircraft in the future. The 98 page document outlines the mechanics of...

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Australia’s Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government has released $18M in grants under the first round of the New and Emerging Aviation Technology Partnerships in early November. “The Emerging Aviation Technology Partnerships Program will ensure our aviation sector remains at the forefront of innovation as it continues to develop and grow, particularly with renewed focus on achieving...

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Archer Unveils its Production Aircraft, Midnight

20 November 2022 || 5 min read

Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), based in Santa Clara, CA, has publicly unveiled its production aircraft, Midnight, a pilot-plus-four-passenger eVTOL aircraft during its Open House event in Palo Alto, CA. Midnight is the evolution of Archer’s demonstrator eVTOL aircraft, Maker, which has validated its proprietary twelve-tilt-six configuration and key enabling technologies. Midnight is designed to be safe, sustainable, quiet and,...

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Lilium, the Munich-based eVTOL maker, has announced that it’s secured an additional $119M USD in capital from existing shareholders, new investors, and strategic partners. Investing participants include Honeywell and Aciturri as well as LGT and its affiliated impact investor Lightrock, Tencent, B. Riley Securities and certain affiliates thereof. Lilium’s new CEO, Klaus Roewe, as well as three additional board members,...

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While many eVTOL makers have kept autonomy in mind while designing their aircraft, most upcoming designs feature piloted solutions, with some semi-autonomous pilot-assistance capabilities. As these aircraft have come closer to certification, it’s become apparent that commercial airworthiness for these electric aircraft will likely come before fully autonomous flight, meaning that autonomy has become a less immediate goal. However, flight...

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Last week, Volocopter revealed a fully integrated vertiport terminal for urban air mobility operations of the future. The vertiport was shared via a launch event which provided an opportunity to demonstrate the end-to-end passenger journey, from arrival at the vertiport terminal to aircraft boarding. The vertiport testbed will be located at Pontoise-Cormeilles, was designed by Skyports in collaboration with Groupe...

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XPeng eVTOL Takes Flight in Dubai

13 November 2022 || 4 min read

Designed to look as sleek and accessible as an electric car, Xpeng’s X2 eVTOL prototype recently conducted a demonstration flight in Dubai at the SkyDive Dubai event, attended by representatives from the Chinese Consulate in Dubai, the Dubai International Chamber of Commerce, and the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism.  XPeng is a well-known and thoroughly established electric car maker...

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Earlier this week, the FAA released the airworthiness/certification criteria for Joby’s JAS4-1 eVTOL prototype and candidate for commercialization. This is the first of its kind and provides the public with a detailed certification plan for eVTOL platforms of the future. The document draws its criteria largely from Part 23 for certification of fixed-wing general aviation aircraft, but also takes content...

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Australia’s Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government has just announced release of $18M in grants under the first round of the New and Emerging Aviation Technology Partnerships. “The Emerging Aviation Technology Partnerships Program will ensure our aviation sector remains at the forefront of innovation as it continues to develop and grow, particularly with renewed focus on achieving...

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VoltAero announced last week the completion of their first tranche of Series B financing, with Italy-based TESI, who will continue in partnership with VoltAero as a strategic investor and manufacturing partner. The Series B round includes a €32 million capital raise and VoltAero has shared that these funds will help to cover certification and production launch of the first member...

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Leo Aircraft, which is creating a compact eVTOL powered by all-electric jet propulsion, announced its prototype’s first manned flight this week. Leo Flight has a vision for an all-electric aircraft that can take to the skies as easily as a traditional automotive vehicle uses roads. This means that the electric aircraft it’s designing will take up no more space than...

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EHang and HAECO to Partner for MRO Services

06 November 2022 || 3 min read

EHang this week announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with HAECO, a subsidiary of Swire Group and a world leading aircraft engineering and maintenance company. The two parties plan to cooperate in multiple areas such as manufacturing and assembly, continued airworthiness, digital platforms, aircraft maintenance, and talent training. The focus is to co-develop systems and solutions that...

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