Category: Vehicles/Manufactures

Astro Aerospace Partners with Kasaero GmbH

19 August 2018 || 2 min read

The Texas based eVTOL developer Astro Aerospace has established a partnership with German company Kasaero, which specializes in lightweight design, composites, and certifications. Astro Aerospace’s AA360 has reached the pre-order stage. Company stock is available on the public stock market. The AA360 features sixteen rotors, full autonomy, and an interior designed for 360-degree visibility. In May, Astro Aerospace recently acquired Passenger Drone, as well...

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A patent filed by Bell Flight in January of 2018 may hint at the design of its air taxi concept. US Patent 2018/0208305 shows a three fanned air taxi that has tilting rotors – one on each wingtip and one at the tail of the aircraft – that would enable vertical takeoff and landing. Furthermore, the patent includes provisions for...

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Bell Air Taxi Interior

Workhorse Unveils New Brand Identity

14 August 2018 || 3 min read

Workhorse unveiled their new “Work Ahead” brand identity in New York City amidst the display of their SureFly flying taxi. Steve Burns, CEO of Workhorse, stated: “We are at a watershed moment as the worlds of alternative energy and transportation become further intertwined. As more brands enter the space, having a strong marketing platform that lets workers know that Workhorse...

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Workhorse SureFly From Above

UberAIR adds University of Texas as Partner

11 August 2018 || 3 min read

UberAIR announced Thursday that they’d be adding the University of Texas – Austin to their list of partners that will develop rotor technologies, according to TechCrunch. The news enhances the players roster for the Uber Elevate Initiative, which aims to have functional aircraft in operation by 2023 in Dallas, Dubai, and Los Angeles. Uber has established a rigorous eCRM (common...

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UberAIR UT Partnership

Aston Martin’s Volante Vision Concept

18 July 2018 || 3 min read

Aston Martin released their Volante Vision Flying Car Concept at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK on July 17th. Among many other aviation announcements that were shared yesterday, this one was particularly important, as the Volante Vision Concept advances the previous SuperVolant Pegasus concept. It’s estimated that this concept wouldn’t be flying until the middle of the next decade, and...

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Aston Martin Volante Vision Concept

Boeing Will Design Autonomous Aircraft at MIT

03 August 2018 || 3 min read

Audi and other European car makers, including Italian design firm Italdesign, are in a battle for flying taxi supremacy against Uber. They announced in May the creation of the Urban Air Mobility division – a dedicated division in Ingolstadt tasked with testing flying taxis. Boeing has countered this week by announcing the development of the Boeing Aerospace & Autonomy Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts....

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UrbanAero Launches CityHawk Development

24 July 2018 || 3 min read

An Urban Aeronautics Press Release was issued yesterday announcing the launch of their new website, www.metro-Skyways.com in addition to announcing the launch of full-scale development for the CityHawk hybrid-power, eVTOL flying car. The vehicle is being developed at Urban’s subsidiary, Metro Skyways Ltd, with first manned flights in 2021 to 2022. After these flights, FAA certification will follow. CityHawk is an equivalent...

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CityHawk Top View

Five or six “shortlisted” eVTOL companies that have secured less than $5 million in funding will be invited to the Revolution.Aero conference October 1 and 2 at the Grand Hyatt, San Francisco, according to the conference’s website. “They will then receive comments from the judges and be voted for by the audience” stated the conference schedule – indicating that the...

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Revolution Aero Pitch

Terrafugia is bringing urban air mobility to the Gate City at Nashua airport. Terrafugia is currently in the process of leasing hangar space at 101 Perimeter Road. Chris Jaran, CEO of Terrafugia, stated: “It is enough space for us to do all of our testing for the Transition flying car and to accommodate the first couple of years of production....

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Terrafugia Transition Rear View

Marc Piette is the founder of a two year old autonomous aviation startup named Xwing, which has kept a low profile until today – they’ve been busy developing a software package for general aviation aircraft, helicopters, and eVTOLs that automates the flying process. Xwing announced Tuesday that raised $4 million in a seed round. Investors included Eniac Ventures, Array Ventures,...

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Xwing AFMS

The BlackFly, an eVTOL made by tech company Opener, released footage of the first flight of their craft, which is powered by eight fans spread across two wings. Here’s a video: The BlackFly is being worked on by Opener, a Palo Alto – based corporation that has kept the development of the eVTOL under wraps until recently when they disclosed...

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BlackFly

“Money is pouring into start-ups making spacecraft, aircraft, or building businesses around them; this year, financial data firm Preqin tracked venture investment totaling $927 million in the sector through July 26.” Due to technological advances that allow for more streamlined designing and prototyping of complex aerospace systems, investments are being driven more and more frequently in larger amounts to support...

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Volante Vision Investor

Samson Sky at EAA AirVenture 2018

25 July 2018 || 2 min read

The Samson Sky Switchblade, one of the world’s first flying cars, will officially be unveiled this week during the EAA AirVenture 2018 airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The three-wheeled vehicle is federally classified as a motorcycle. Sam Bousfield, the founder of Samson Sky, the company that produces the switchblade, explained that its speed capabilities are not just limited to the ground,...

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Samson Sky Flying Car

The Bell Air Taxi – An Engineer’s View

23 July 2018 || 4 min read

While much fanfare has accompanied the unveiling of the Bell Air Taxi in the past months, hardly any insight has been provided into the technical design process or details of the air taxi. Bell is a partner in the Uber Elevate initiative, who is targeting a 2023 launch. Accordingly, Bell needs to have their air taxi ready for testing in two years. Before...

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Interior of Bell Air Taxi

Woburn, MA based Terrafugia announced in a press release today that they would manufacture the first Transition Flying Car that will be sold to customers in 2019, and that the flying car would include new features that have not been previously disclosed by the company. “Developing this new technology has allowed us to test several different mechanisms and generate process...

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Terrafugia To Sell in 2019