News

SPACtacular Financing: Billions Coming for eVTOL

• 24 Feb 2021 04:13 PM
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A year after the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft industry saw its first start-up valued at more than $1B (see “The First Electric VTOL Unicorn: Joby Aviation,” Vertiflite, March/April 2020), a growing number of companies across the advanced air mobility (AAM) industry are looking to merge with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) that is already publicly traded to raise the funds necessary to bankroll future growth.

Coming to Terms: Aircraft Survivability is Revered — But What About Availability?

• 18 Feb 2021 04:01 PM
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Most consider aircraft survivability only about reduction of aircraft radar signature, or radar cross section (RCS), through shaping and materials. Lowered RCS reduces the range at which a threat radar can detect, locate and identify a target, ideally reduced to a range so small that one can act with impunity — a significant military advantage.

Archer Teams with Fiat Chrysler for eVTOL Production

• 12 Jan 2021 08:00 AM
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Archer and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced on Jan. 12, 2021 that they have entered into an agreement so Archer can benefit from access to FCA’s low-cost supply chain, advanced composite material capabilities, and engineering and design experience.

Leadership Profile: Prof. Richard "Pat" Anderson

• 11 Jan 2021 09:37 PM
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At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Eagle Flight Research Center (EFRC) in Daytona Beach, Florida, Professor Richard "Pat" Anderson oversees investigations of alternative propulsion, unmanned aircraft systems, flight controls and automation, plus related certification issues.

Inside Joby’s Unicorn: Flight Tests and Patents Reveal New Details

• 22 Dec 2020 02:35 PM
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By Kenneth I. Swartz
Vertiflite, Jan/Feb 2021

Founded in 2009, Joby has long been recognized by experts as the leading pioneer in the developme

Joby Transitions

• 22 Dec 2020 12:10 PM
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In the year since Joby Aviation saw its valuation pass the $1B mark — known as a unicorn — the company has become more public in its quest to become first to market in the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi market. The recent release of photos and video showing the Joby Generation 2.0 aircraft hovering and in wingborne flight highlights the continuing advances in the aircraft’s flight test program.

Commentary: Uber's Legacy: Elevating the Electric VTOL Revolution

• 21 Dec 2020 02:48 PM
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Until recently, Uber was often one of those companies that people seem to love to hate. Stemming from the well-publicized antics of its founding CEO Travis Kalanick, workplace scandals and the no-holds-barred expansion strategy of its startup years, most people were skeptical and suspicious of Uber’s intentions and motivations when it announced its interest in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

CAAM Accelerates eVTOL in Canada

• 21 Dec 2020 12:53 PM
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The Vancouver-based Canadian Advanced Air Mobility (CAAM) Consortium commissioned three new studies to better understand how advanced air mobility (AAM) activities will impact the Greater Vancouver economy, environment and social engagement, the so-called Triple Bottom Line.

VFS Chapters Raise the Bar for Virtual Meetings

• 21 Dec 2020 11:16 AM
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Beginning in April, the Vertical Flight Society started providing virtual content with both industry interviews and virtual chapter meetings. Links to past and future webinars are available at www.vtol.org/webinars. Below is a roundup of a dozen of the webinars organized by the chapters and headquarters since the last issue of Vertiflite.

Coming to Terms: “Levels of Autonomy” is Unsound

• 21 Dec 2020 09:26 AM
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Autonomy, among the hottest topics in aviation today, lacks a clear and agreed-upon definition, though a consensus is emerging.

Multiple aviation “level of autonomy” scales have been put forward, such as Autonomy Levels for Unmanned Systems (ALFUS) by US government’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). But the adjective “autonomous” is binary: either an actor (person or system) performs a task autonomously or it has supervision.