A long-time VTOL designer’s latest startup emerging from stealth development mode has unveiled a hybrid-electric “practical flying car” concept that it hopes to ground- and hover-test next year, culminating nearly 20 years of development including a government contract.
Slovenian electric aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel announced plans in a May 13 newsletter to shift developmental focus from its Project-801 eVTOL — a candidate for the Uber Air mission — towards three of its other designs following “delays with the Uber flying taxi program by many international authorities.”
German eVTOL aircraft maker Volocopter has recently partnered with two companies as part of developing its two-seat VoloCity multicopter. Aerospace equipment manufacturer AUTOFLUG GmbH announced May 7 it would supply Volocopter with its modular Flyweight family of seats for installation on the VoloCity. Under the contract, AUTOFLUG will produce and deliver the seats, and the two companies will jointly develop the interface “to make optimum use of the available space in the cabin.”
Airbus intends to continue developing its CityAirbus eVTOL program in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, the manufacturer told eVTOL.com on May 5. The CityAirbus multicopter began free-flight testing at the end of 2019 with the goal of informing future eVTOL designs in a similar way as the company’s Silicon Valley eVTOL demonstrator, the A³ Vahana tiltwing.
NASA Langley Research Center on April 24 premiered a video describing its Langley Aerodrome 8 (LA-8) modular unmanned aerial vehicle, a testbed the agency called a “flying laboratory for urban air mobility.” NASA is using the LA-8 to investigate different eVTOL technologies and configurations in the hopes of aiding the private sector in establishing the UAM market.
The Utah Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Initiative (UAMMI), a multi-disciplinary association working to strengthen the state’s manufacturing and technical capabilities, announced April 14 it had partnered with Salt Lake City, Utah-based personal flying vehicle developer ElectraFly to create 3D-printed carbon fiber aircraft parts for its hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft.
Electric propulsion system designer MagniX and engineering, testing and certification firm AeroTEC conducted the first flight of an all-electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) modification to a Cessna Caravan 208B plane on May 28. AeroTEC called the 11-seat eCaravan (shown) the largest commercial electric aircraft to date.
Daedalean AG — a four-year-old Swiss startup developing aircraft-agnostic flight control software using computer-vision and machine-learning to perform tasks ranging from pilot augmentation to fully autonomous flight — is conducting a Series B funding round with a $25M goal by the end of this year.
The US Marine Corps announced March 10 (during a VFS-organized media briefing) its intention to partner with the US Air Force on the latter’s Agility Prime project, contributing funding and potential use cases towards the goal of accelerating commercial certification and assessing potential government uses for non-traditional electric or hybrid-propulsion VTOL aircraft. Like the USAF, the Marine Corps said it hopes to nurture...
Israeli ducted-fan VTOL maker Urban Aeronautics announced on March 20 a partnership with Singapore-based helicopter charter booking company Ascent Flights Global to offer UAM services in Asia using the CityHawk, a six-seat manned VTOL aircraft manufactured by Urban subsidiary Metro Skyways. Although currently powered by a turboshaft engine, the aircraft is being designed for operational conversion to a hydrogen-powered eVTOL....
