Results for: eve evtol

In the latest announcement of airline eVTOL orders, Kenya Airways subsidiary, Fahari Aviation, has signed a letter of intent for 40 Embraer EVE eVTOL aircraft. It is expected orders will begin in 2026. The two companies will also partner on the market development of aerial mobility in Kenya and conduct studies on the use of cargo drones.

Allan Kilavuka, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Airways, commented on the joint project between the two companies,

“Urban air mobility is the future of transport and we are honoured to be the champions of this in the region. The journey to realise the dream of eVTOL vehicles in Kenya is on course, and the partnership with Eve is a key achievement for us as part of the strategy to adopt new technologies as a growth strategy for the sustainable development of Africa.”

Over the past months, Eve has conducted similar studies in Scandinavia with Widerøe Zero. Embraer’s Eve has also secured major orders with BLADE for up to 60 aircraft.

Andre Stein, co-CEO of Eve, commented on the latest agreement with Fahari Aviation,

“This is a new chapter of the Eve and Fahari Aviation partnership to strengthen both companies’ commitment to establishing the foundations that will sustainably support the ecosystem for urban air mobility in Kenya. Last year, we announced a collaboration to develop operational models for Fahari Aviation’s key markets, and today’s announcement confirms that it is evolving successfully.”

Why it matters: Not many developments for the eVTOL space have been yet made public in Africa. Kenya Airway’s order is a significant step and offers an opportunity to expand urban mobility to the continent. While Eve has yet to fly its prototype, the orders show confidence in the aerospace giant, Embraer, and their potential to deliver a safe, secure, and reliable product to its customers.

Eve and Embraer have announced this week that their first eVTOL production facility will be located in the city of Taubaté, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Subject to the final authorities’ approval, the manufacturing plant will be situated on a designated portion of land within Embraer’s existing unit in the city that will be expanded.

The site benefits from a strategic logistical location, offering easy access via two highways and close proximity to a railroad. Another significant advantage is the region’s proximity to Embraer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos and Eve’s engineering and human resources team, which will facilitate the development and sustainability of new production processes, enhancing Eve’s agility and competitiveness.

“When we began our search for a manufacturing location to build our eVTOL, we wanted to reimagine how the aircraft could be built using the latest technology and manufacturing processes, coupled with other aspects such as supply chain and logistics,” said Andre Stein, co-CEO of Eve. “Our objective is to offer safe and reliable products and services to the market and be highly competitive in manufacturing efficiency. The team was tasked with the opportunity to design an optimized assembly line that prioritizes safety, quality, efficiency, productivity, and sustainability.”

“This decision is aligned with our growth strategy plan, which is driven by innovation and sustainability,” said Francisco Gomes Neto, President & CEO at Embraer. “We believe in the enormous potential of the global Urban Air Mobility market, and we reinforce our commitment to Eve as one of the major players in this industry.”

In May 2022, Eve announced a partnership with Porsche Consulting to define Eve’s eVTOL global manufacturing, supply chain and logistics macro strategy. The two companies have since worked together to research advanced manufacturing and innovation concepts and used their combined aeronautical and automotive expertise to design a concept of industrialization for eVTOL aircraft based on high safety, quality, efficiency and customer focus.

“We are focused on achieving the highest quality standards in eVTOL manufacturing through increased knowledge and consideration of an innovative approach. Following extensive research on advanced manufacturing and innovation concepts for over a year, we are now prepared to establish our initial factory for eVTOL production. With confidence in our capabilities, we are equipped to efficiently scale the production volume sustainably to meet the demands of a growing market,” added Alice Altissimo, Vice President of Program Management and Operation at Eve.

Eve continues to progress in developing its eVTOL. The company also focuses on creating a comprehensive portfolio of agnostic solutions, including a unique Urban Air Traffic Management (Urban ATM) software to optimize and scale Urban Air Mobility operations worldwide.

Why it matters: The development of eVTOL manufacturing sites is a significant process running in parallel with the design, testing, and certification of these crafts. With a strategically located facility for both Eve and Embraer, access to the facility for both employees and the necessary suppliers for the construction of the eVTOL should be optimized.

Source: Eve Press Release

Eve Air Mobility (“Eve”) (NYSE: EVEX, EVEXW), a leading player in the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) industry, has made significant strides in its testing phase as it moves closer to achieving key program milestones. Eve’s commitment to a building-blocks approach helps ensure the continuous enhancement of its technology and eVTOL aircraft, allowing for the delivery of a highly effective product to the market.

Eve Air Mobility, a spinoff from EmbraerX, is creating a unique eVTOL aircraft focused on efficiency, safety, low-noise profiles, and ultimately on making short-distance air travel more acccessible.

Eve recently completed propeller tests on its propeller rig in Brazil, focusing on measuring aerodynamic performance and sound properties for modeling and development purposes. The configuration and characteristics of propeller blades, such as torsion, shape, and quantity, are crucial in defining the vibration, load, and sound profile of the eVTOL. Additionally, they impact the energy requirements of the aircraft. By testing multiple models, Eve’s engineers are striving to enhance efficiency, reduce sound footprint, and lower operating costs.

Above: Eve truck testing rig, used for testing sound profiles and performance

In another significant development, Eve has commenced testing its vertical lift rotors on a specially designed truck-mounted platform. This mobile testbed aims to evaluate the performance of the rotors during the transition phase of flight. Eve’s engineering team is actively gathering data on the aerodynamic characteristics of the rotors in forward flight. The eVTOL by Eve employs a lift and cruise configuration, utilizing dedicated rotors for vertical flight and fixed wings for cruising. This configuration prioritizes safety, efficiency, reliability, and certifiability while simultaneously reducing operational costs and additional maintenance and repair expenses.

Alice Altissimo, the Vice President of Program Management and Operation at Eve, expressed satisfaction with the company’s program development activities thus far. Altissimo stated, “We are very pleased with our program development activities to date and making very good progress as we move toward the selection of primary suppliers and finalize the definition of our aircraft systems architecture. We continue to invest, and our team is working hard with the goal of developing a mature aircraft for certification and entry into service in 2026.”

Anticipating progress in the near future, Eve expects to finalize the selection of primary equipment suppliers in the first half of 2023. Subsequently, the company plans to commence the assembly of its first full-scale eVTOL prototype in the second half of 2023, followed by an extensive test campaign in 2024. Eve’s eVTOL is scheduled to achieve certification and enter service by 2026.

Collaborating with various partners, Eve is dedicated to accelerating the Urban Air Mobility ecosystem. Benefiting from a start-up mindset and backed by Embraer S.A.’s over 50-year history of aerospace expertise, Eve is taking a holistic approach to advancing the UAM ecosystem. Alongside its advanced eVTOL project, Eve provides a comprehensive global services and support network, as well as a unique air traffic management solution.

Why it’s important: By continuously enhancing its eVTOL technology through rigorous testing and collaborating with key partners, Eve is bringing its product closer to certification and commercialization. These developments signify the Eve’s commitment creating an eVTOL aircraft that can be certified in all parts of the world, and can be used to create reliable and versatile aerial mobility networks. By bringing its immense wealth of expertise to this new industry, Embraer’s Eve has immense potential to create an advanced and high-functioning aircraft, as well as the networks and software systems to help operate it.

Source // sUAS News, AAM international

Related:

• Kenya Airways to Purchase 40 Embraer EVE eVTOL Aircraft (June 2022)
• Ascent Partners with Embraer for 100 Eve eVTOLs (August 2021)
• FlyBIS to Purchase 40 eVTOLs from Eve (December 2022)
• EVE, Embraer-backed eVTOL startup, now trading on NYSE (July 2022)

LYTE Aviation, a new advanced air mobility innovator, has just revealed its 40-seat hybrid eVTOL SkyBus and SkyTruck programs.  Its LA-44 SkyBus and complementary SkyTruck cargo variant are vertical take-off and landing vehicles – designed to be five times more fuel efficient than current helicopters and support a 4.5 tonne payload, by employing hybrid-electric propulsion technology.

“The use of turbine engines will likely remain unavoidable for the foreseeable future, so in order to achieve useful and business-sensitive ranges as well as quicker time to market, we have opted for a hybrid, partly electric VTOL,” LYTE founder and CEO Freshta Farzam said.

Unveiled at the Helicopter Investor’s London 2023 conference, the LA-44 is powered by four conventional turbine engines, running on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) complemented with four electric motors at the wingtips for control and stability, powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

The turboprop engines of the SkyBus will be capable of using Jet-A or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), but LTYE’s ultimate objective is to rework the aircraft with all-hydrogen propulsion. In the meantime, the SkyBus is slated to offer a range of 1,000 km with a max speed of 300 km/hr powered by its hybrid electric tandem tilt-wing design.

“Conventional, highly reliable turboprops are the best option for our aircraft program for the time being, with the aim to operate and refuel practically anywhere with the current infrastructure. With the constant evolution and expected investment in global infrastructure, including vertiports, energy sources (SAF & green Hydrogen) and electric power plants, the ambition would be to become fully hydrogen-electric in the future,” Farzam said, aiming to displace air transport and land transport modalities such as buses, trains and trucks.

Why it’s important: Given the large size and noise footprint of the piloted SkyBus passenger aircraft, it may be tough for LTYE to secure certification and public acceptance. However, the company plans to pursue entry into service of its SkyTruck cargo variant as a primary goal, which will prove the technology and enable operation away from populated areas while accumulating hours on the airframe and supporting infrastructure.

Lyte has already held talks with prospective infrastructure partners and operators in the Middle East, while also targeting countries such as Norway and Canada as early-adopter markets. The project was initially funded by private investors, and LYTE is now preparing to launch a Series A round to fund building a full-scale prototype by 2024.

Eve has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with FlyBIS Aviation Limited (“FlyBIS”), an advanced air mobility start-up based in Caxias do Sul, in the south of Brazil, to collaborate on the development of eVTOL operations in Brazil and South America. Based on the agreement, FlyBIS will also purchase up to 40 of Eve’s eVTOL vehicles.

Above: The Eve eVTOL featured with FlyBIS branding

“This new collaboration with FlyBIS will enable us to expand the future of air mobility to Southern areas of Brazil and other South American countries,” said Andre Stein, Co-CEO of Eve. “This region has several high-traffic tourist areas that will benefit from eVTOL operations, reinforcing our commitment to fostering the urban air mobility market in different regions around the world.”

FlyBIS has become a promising option for air mobility in South Brazil in the short term and is set to help change and improve the way future generations will move. After starting operations in Brazil’s southern states, FlyBIS plans to expand operations to neighboring countries and contribute to the implementation and development of Eve’s air mobility ecosystem. FlyBIS is backed by Brave Aviation who’s current fleet includes Embraer Phenom 100 as well as other aircraft.

“We have a strong team in FlyBIS working together with Eve’s outstanding workforce and second-to-none resources to develop and implement this project in the most financially efficient and sustainable way,” said FlyBIS Co-Founder and CEO Gustavo Zanettini, who is also an aviation consultant and airline pilot. “Our team is very motivated and confident, and we will be working to change future generations’ urban air mobility for a more accessible and cleaner experience.”

Why it matters: Eve now boasts an impressive, industry-leading order book of 2,770 eVTOLs with this latest order of 40 units from FlyBIS. As a Brazilian manufacturer and operator, the partnership between Eve and FlyBIS promises to bring advanced aerial mobility to southern Brazil and surrounding regions.

• Eve Announces First Vertiport Operator Partner Bluenest by Globalvia (December 2022)
• United Airlines Ventures Adds Eve to its UAM Portfolio (September 2022)
• EVE, Embraer-backed eVTOL startup, now trading on NYSE (July 2022)
• Kenya Airways to Purchase 40 Embraer EVE eVTOL Aircraft (June 2022)
• Eve Lands Order for up to 50 eVTOLs from Aviair and Helispirit (February 2022)
• Embraer’s Eve Establishes Partnerships for eVTOL flights in Europe, Latin America, and Dubai (June 2022)

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, Barry Engle, David Wallerstein and Niklas Zennström, are also participating.

The fundraising is a concurrent private placement and registered direct offering (RDO).

Citigroup, B. Riley Securities and Piper Sandler are acting as placement agents for the offerings.

Lilium agreed to issue and sell: (a) an aggregate of 91,524,936 of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares at a price of $1.30 per share; and (b) warrants exercisable for an aggregate of 45,762,463 Shares, with an exercise price of $1.30 per share in the private placement and registered direct offerings.

The offerings are expected to close on November 22, 2022, subject to customary closing conditions. Lilium and its officers and directors have agreed to a lockup of 30 days subject to customary exclusions.

Lilium continues flight testing in Spain of its Phoenix 2 technology demonstrator and has announced its intentions to certify its production model eVTOL in 2025.

Why it matters: In 2021, Lilium reported a loss of ~$420M with the lion’s share of costs coming from research and development. Lilium has spent a good deal of 2022 building strong industry partnerships for manufacturing and operation of its eVTOL jet. This latest round of funding should provide an additional boost to Lilium’s flight testing and certification efforts to begin commercialization near the same time as other leading eVTOL competitors in the aerial mobility space.

Related:

• GlobeAir to serve Southern France and Italy with the Lilium Jet (October 2022)
• Lilium and Helity to Develop High Speed Electric Air Mobility Network in Southern Spain (August 2022)
• Lilium Completes Transition from Hover to Winged Flight (June 2022)

Embraer’s Eve will conduct its first North American UAM simulation using helicopters in partnership with Blade Urban Air Mobility. With these simulations, the company aims to study operations, ground services, passenger journeys and eVTOL operator needs, creating more accessible and faster connections to Downtown Chicago. Eve will conduct its Chicago, Ill. UAM simulation over three weeks, starting with ground tests on September 12th and passenger flights on the 14th. Following the simulation, the city of Chicago will gain knowledge about the infrastructure and ecosystem needed to enable the launch and expected long-term growth of UAM in the area.

“Simulating the eVTOL operation in Chicago allows us to study how people will experience this service and understand the entire ecosystem requirements for our product and services, while showcasing the benefit of Urban Air Mobility in one of North America’s most prominent and populated cities,” said André Stein, co-CEO of Eve. “We are wrapping up preparations to execute these simulations seamlessly and look forward to helping prepare Chicago for a local zero-emission UAM solution that is quiet, efficient, and sustainable.”

Eve will perform the ground tests at Vertiport Chicago, an existing downtown heliport facility simulating services, infrastructure, and equipment requirements for eVTOL. In planned UAM infrastructure, Vertiports will be any area of land or a structure used for the landing, take-off, charging and operation of eVTOL vehicles.

“For Eve, it is essential to understand and address through these projects involving partners and the community the key challenges associated with the main pillars of the UAM ecosystem. Our proposal brings together all stakeholders and counts on different views and feedback to structure and deliver the best solutions,” said Luiz Mauad, Vice President of Services and Fleet Operations at Eve.

For this simulation, Eve has formed a consortium of partners, including Blade, Republic Airways, Halo Aviation, Vertiport Chicago, Village of Tinley Park, Village of Schaumburg, ACCIONA, SkyWest, Inc. and Speedbird Aero. A helicopter replicating Eve’s future eVTOL will transport passengers from the Vertiport Chicago facility to two helistops located northwest and southwest of Chicago. The first route will connect Vertiport Chicago to Schaumburg Municipal Helistop, and the second route will connect Vertiport Chicago to Tinley Park Helistop in Illinois. 

Rendering of Embraer’s Eve eVTOL in flight

Why it matters: Blade and Eve partnering in Chicago to simulate eVTOL operations will provide great operational data to eVTOL makers. Special considerations like loading/unloading times, Vertiport operations, and infrastructure requirements will serve to bring a better product offering for aerial mobility in the future. Expect similar studies to be conducted as eVTOL makers pivot from design and testing to operationalizing their prototypes.

Source: Eve press release

Vertical Aerospace has announced a partnership with Babcock International an aerospace, defense and security company to explore new applications of for its VX4 eVTOL aircraft.

The VX4 has proven demand in the passenger transportation markets from established airline customers
including Virgin Atlantic, aircraft lessors such as Avolon, and helicopter and tourism operators such as
Bristow and Iberojet. With today’s announcement, Vertical and Babcock will set up a Joint Working Group
(JWG) to explore how to use the VX4 in new applications such as aerial EMS and cargo transportation.
The VX4 has the potential to transform these types of operations and reduce their carbon impact at a lower
overall cost.

The piloted zero operating emissions four-passenger VX4, is projected to be capable of travelling distances
over 100 miles, achieving top speeds of over 200mph, while producing minimal noise and having a low cost
per passenger mile.

Babcock has over thirty-five years of experience in EMS, performing thousands of missions every year
globally, and is the largest single operator delivering helicopter emergency services (HEMS) in the UK.
By reducing the medical response time, Babcock not only saves lives, but also significantly minimizes the
long-term effects of injuries. This will include reviewing how to use the VX4 in vital services such as attending
accidents and providing emergency transport between hospitals.

The partnership will also see the two companies working on developing modular MRO capabilities to enable
cost effective maintenance of the aircraft in both remote and challenging environments. The partnership
will also see the two companies working on the development of modular MRO capabilities to maximize
availability and enable cost effective maintenance of the VX4 in service. Leveraging Babcock’s experience
in the defense industry, the partnership will also explore how the eVTOL concept may be expanded in the
future to support the armed forces with medium range logistics delivery and casualty evacuation services.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder & CEO, Vertical Aerospace, said “Climate change is the greatest challenge of
our time. As with all other areas, the emergency services and logistics sectors must respond and adapt. I am
delighted that Vertical Aerospace will be able support Babcock, a trusted provider of emergency response
services, in their efforts to decarbonize their operations.”

Phil Craig, Managing Director of UK Aviation at Babcock, added: “Partnering with Vertical Aerospace not
only enables us to harness our extensive digital and data expertise across Babcock, but also our reputation
as a trusted MRO provider with a highly skilled workforce. As a business, we’re committed to reducing our
carbon footprint and this partnership is an exciting step into the world of electric aircrafts. Exploring VX4’s
technological capabilities allows us to understand how it can be used to deliver critical care and logistical
support in challenging environments with zero emissions.”

Why it matters: eVTOL platforms offer an opportunity to disrupt the emergency medical services and logistics sectors as demonstrated by this partnership and others of its kind throughout the industry. Babcock’s experience will complement Vertical’s VX4 and potentially the two can bring to market a transformed transportation experience for EMS responses.

EVE management participated in ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 10, 2022 by ringing the opening bell in celebration of the public listing. The common stock offering opened at an initial market price of $10.28 and, as of now, trades at approximately $6.60.

Since the public listing, EVE has continued its strategic expansion efforts, announcing partnerships with Porsche Consulting to define eVTOL global strategy and with Kenya Airways to purchase 40 eVTOL Aircraft.

“Today, we celebrate a historic milestone in a journey that we began nearly five years ago in EmbraerX, the market accelerator of Embraer, a leader in the global aviation industry,” said André Stein, Co-CEO of Eve, on the day of the public listing. “This transaction is a key enabler of our mission to become a leading player in a potential $760 billion UAM addressable market, and we thank the entire team at Eve and Embraer for all of their hard work, and our partners at Zanite as well as our other investors for their support,” he said.

Eve has created a comprehensive, practical and capital-efficient UAM solution spanning electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle design and production, service and support, fleet operations and urban air traffic management (UATM).

Meanwhile, Eve’s strategic partnership with Embraer includes a royalty-free license to Embraer’s background IP to be used within the UAM market as well as access to thousands of skilled Embraer employees on a flexible, first priority basis and use of Embraer’s global infrastructure. The strategic alignment with Embraer also provides Eve with important cost and execution advantages as it seeks to scale its UAM solution globally.

“We believe Eve is uniquely positioned to develop, certify and commercialize our UAM solutions on a global scale,” said Jerry DeMuro, Co-CEO of Eve. “Our pipeline of launch orders for 1,825 vehicles secured via non-binding letters of intent from 19 customers consists of industry leaders who also invested in Eve, including Azorra Aviation, Falko Regional Aircraft, Republic Airways and SkyWest, and provides powerful validation of our business strategy and vision.”

Why it’s important: Eve has expressed its dedication to accelerating the UAM ecosystem and benefits from a startup mindset, backed by Embraer’s more than 50-year history of aerospace expertise. With a singular focus, Eve is taking a holistic approach to progressing the UAM ecosystem, with an advanced eVTOL project, a comprehensive global services and support network, and a unique air traffic management solution. The closing of the business combination generated $377 million of gross proceeds, which will be used to accelerate the development, certification and commercialization of Eve’s comprehensive UAM solution.

Source // EVE press release

Archer Aviation Inc. announced that based on the recent successes seen in its Maker flight testing program it is confident it will achieve its goal of flying full transition flights with Maker by year end. Archer is conducting multiple tests weekly as it progresses through Maker’s flight test campaign. 

According to the Company’s press release, the work the team put in during the first half of this year to upgrade and test the aircraft’s Tilt Propeller System (TPS) is proving successful. Archer believes that its progress from first hover flight through full transition will be the fastest pace any eVTOL company has reached this milestone. 

In December of 2021 Maker successfully completed its first hover test flight. After completing that initial flight test, the engineering team spent the following months focused on advancing the development and testing of the systems needed to progress to full transition as efficiently as possible.  Flight testing during the most recent phase has centered around various hover scenarios to analyze the TPS in the air. As testing progresses, the flight envelope will be expanded with flights at increasing climb and descent rates, and airspeeds. Archer plans to continue to conduct multiple flight tests weekly as the campaign continues into the second half of this year.

“What differentiates Archer from other players in our industry is our approach to commercialization as well as our laser focus on achieving that goal. The advancements we are making in our flight test campaign are nothing short of remarkable. I wake up every day inspired by our team.” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Chief Executive Officer and founder.

“Our recent test flights with Maker have shown impressive results,” said Dr. Geoff Bower, Chief Engineer of Archer. Dr. Bower oversees Maker’s flight test campaign and brings over a decade of experience in the eVTOL aircraft industry during which he has helped design and build 5 previous generations of full-scale eVTOL aircraft and completed successful flight test campaigns. “The rigorous testing our team has completed over the past several months has helped not only validate our design, but also furthers our mission to certify our production aircraft.” 

Why it’s important: Archer has had recent success in employing its industry leading talent and focus on using key enabling technologies that are in the market today to unlock this historic progress. This signals an increased likelihood of meeting its goal to certify the vehicle by the end of 2024, and proceed with key collaborations such as UAM operations alongside United Airlines.

On May 21, after months of rigorous testing, the Jetson team has completed its “first-ever eVTOL commute” with its single-seater eVTOL aircraft. Jetson co-founder Tomasz Patan piloted the Jetson ONE eVTOL as the Jetson team waited for the aircraft’s arrival at the Santa Maria a Monte facility in Tuscany. The eVTOL commute reduced trip time as compared to a car by an impressive 88%.

Jetson described the flight as a breakthrough for the emerging eVTOL sector and for its own rapidly growing company.

The latest Jetson ONE version was unveiled by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco on Thursday June 9, 2022. The ceremony marked the first time Jetson ONE was seen in public since it entered the market in late October 2021.

“Our long-term goal is to democratize flight. We firmly believe the ‘eVTOL’ is the future for mass transportation. We are committed to making this a reality,” said Tomasz Patan, co-founder and CTO of Jetson.

The Jetson ONE is constructed of a race-car inspired lightweight aluminum space frame and a carbon-Kevlar composite body. It is powered by eight electric motors, has a flight time of 20 minutes, and reaches a top speed of 63 miles per hour (102 kilometers per hour). The aircraft is powered by a high discharge lithium-ion battery and can carry a pilot’s weight of 210 pounds (100kg).

“The Jetson ONE is incredibly fun to fly. Most importantly, the flight stabilization system we developed makes flight super easy. We can make anyone a pilot in less than five minutes,” said Peter Ternstrom, co-founder and president.

Why it’s important: This demonstration flight is a significant milestone for the urban air mobility industry as it proves the feasibility of near term eVTOL air taxis. While the Jetson ONE is a personal air vehicle as opposed to commercially operated, it signals to consumers and operators that the technology is ready for implementation as soon as regulations and infrastructure are established, and that eVTOL transportation has immense benefits while remaining operationally affordable.

Source // Jetson press release

Related: Jetson ONE eVTOL sold out for 2022 deliveries (March 2022)

Electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL) company, Overair, just announced its most recent funding of $145 million from Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Aerospace, global leaders in ultra-precision communications and aircraft technologies. With this new investment, Overair claims that it remains on track to fly its all-electric experimental prototype in the second half of 2023.

“This is a tremendous milestone for our growing team, and we’re extremely well positioned to deliver sustainable aerial ridesharing to the world through the development of Butterfly,” said Ben Tigner, Co-Founder and CEO of Overair. “We’re exactly where we want to be, building a superior aircraft company with class leading mobility technology around an unrivaled aircraft while rapidly approaching the first flight of a purpose-built prototype next year. We’ve proven Butterfly’s propulsion system, so we’ll now begin validating Butterfly’s ability to operate safely in real-world weather conditions, carry significant payloads, and fly incredibly quietly.”

Butterfly is an all-electric aircraft with six seats designed to take off and land vertically. The aircraft’s advanced propulsion system is derived from decades of military VTOL programs led by Abe Karem. Thanks to this legacy of proprietary engineering, Butterfly’s propulsion is extremely efficient and is claimed to give Butterfly the broadest flight envelope and smallest sound footprint of any aircraft in the burgeoning industry. Specifically, Butterfly’s unique Optimum Speed Propulsion (OSP) uses four large propellers, which spin slowly when hovering and even slower when cruising, and draw only a fraction of the available motor power, giving Butterfly extra payload capacity and power margins to operate safely in challenging environmental conditions. Additionally, the slow-turning props produce extraordinarily little sound, which will allow Butterfly to operate in high-density areas with noise sensitive communities.

“Hanwha’s basic principles for new business development is to focus on ‘Disruptive Innovation’ that can uproot and shift the market and technology trends based on its core capabilities. In alignment with its core capabilities as well as its main businesses, Hanwha is selecting ‘Game Changer’ businesses that it can really excel in the future, and eVTOL vehicle is one of the ‘Game changer,'” said Mr. Sungchul Eoh, CEO of Hanwha Systems. “With regard to our investment decision in Overair, we assessed that the company had the numerous patients and core technologies required to develop highly efficient, low noise vehicle. Therefore, we expected that Overair would be capable of developing superb vehicle that can satisfy the requirements for safety, efficiency, speed, low noise, and environment-friendly feature. We see the potential of Overair’s Optimum Speed Propulsion system and we will continue to work together to find synergies and bring this breakthrough technology to the world.”

As the company continues to work toward FAA certification, Overair is also working with NASA and Urban Movement Labs in Los Angeles to develop urban air mobility (UAM) routing and infrastructure. 

Why it’s important: Hanwha’s continued investment in Overair not only fuels the ongoing development of Butterfly but will also allow Overair to lay the groundwork for commercializing their mobility technology. In addition to their investment, Hanwha will also provide electric motors and battery packs for Overair’s prototypes, as the two companies expand their R&D co-operation.

Eve, the eVTOL development subsidiary of Embraer, has announced partnerships with Corporacíon America Airports and with Falcon Aviation Services to bring tourist and transportation flights to Dubai and cities in Latin America and Europe.

This announcement comes one month after Eve went public on the NYSE, raising an additional $377 million towards creation of this aircraft. 

Above: Rendering of the Eve eVTOL aircraft in flight over Dubai

Eve’s eVTOL aircraft will be fully electric, and able to carry four passengers plus a pilot. In the past two years, Eve has made significant progress by forming partnerships with aircraft operators all over the world, seeking to augment or even replace helicopter services at many of these companies.

On June 9th, Eve announced a partnership with Corporación América Airports, the largest private-sector airport concession operator in the world by number of airports, to ‘design and integrate a service and support ecosystem for Urban Air Mobility’ in Europe and Latin America. Together, Eve and Corporación América Airports will begin assessing the readiness of ground infrastructure for the integration of eVTOL connection services. The eventual goal of this project will be to create eVTOL infrastructure at airports that will allow for direct eVTOL transfers from commercial jet flights, so that passengers can travel directly from airports to their final destinations within major cities. Initial work will be conducted as research of the regulatory requirements and infrastructure needs at airports.

Said Martin Eurnekian, CEO of Corporación América Airports, “The next five years will probably be decisive in how we move from and through cities, and aviation will play a leading role again. Corporación América Airports has always been at the forefront of air transport services and now wants to be a key player in the UAM segment, identifying the challenges and opportunities for better operational, infrastructural and secure contexts. We want to lead the development of the UAM ecosystem, allowing mobility in the third dimension accessible to all, in a more sustainable transportation mode.”

Above: Close-up rendering of the Eve eVTOL aircraft

On June 7th, Eve also announced a partnership with Falcon Aviation Services, a leading private jet and helicopter operator in the Middle East and Africa region, for a pre-order of up to 35 of Eve’s eVTOL aircraft. With deliveries expected to start in 2026, Falcon may become one of the world’s first operators of the Eve aircraft, planning to introduce the first eVTOL services as tourism flights from Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai. According to a recent press release, Eve and Falcon will work together with local stakeholders and authorities to eventually transition from tourist flight services to developing an Urban Air Mobility ecosystem for all of the United Arab Emirates.

Captain Ramandeep Oberoi, Chief Operating Officer of Falcon, said: “We are ecstatic to partner with Eve and be the first operator of eVTOL in Dubai & the MENA region. Falcon is actively engaged in Urban Air Mobility emergence and committed to delivering an effective and sustainable new urban transportation mode and providing the community with better and faster solutions. We are particularly proud to take a new step in the UAE, in a project that will be revolutionary for sustainable urban mobility.”

Why it’s important: Together, these two new partnerships will do much to drive forward Eve’s efforts to lay the groundwork for its all-electric aircraft. While other eVTOL developers have a challenge establishing their reputation as new companies, Embraer has a key advantage via its long-time expertise in aircraft development. In the last few years, Eve has been using Embraer’s excellent reputation to steadily add to its growing infrastructure partner list, strengthening the environment for the launch of its aircraft once it is certified.

Source // Eve

Related:

• Embraer’s Eve partners with Porsche Consulting to define eVTOL global strategy
• Eve Lands Order for up to 50 eVTOLs from Aviair and Helispirit
• Eve and Falko to develop Global Operator Network with a potential order for 200 eVTOLs
• Airline Sydney Seaplanes teams up with EmbraerX’s Eve to transition to eVTOLs
• Nautilus and Embraer’s UAM subsidiary Eve partner to develop eVTOL ecosystem in Australia