News

SAE Aerotech 2017 eVTOL Panel

• 27 Sep 2017 04:07 PM
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The Promises and Challenges of Electric Vertical Flight 

• Mike Hirschberg, AHS International (Moderator)
• Mark Moore, Uber Technologies
• Brian Yutko, Aurora Flight Sciences
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Terrafugia Acquired

• 23 Aug 2017 01:38 PM
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Chinese company Zhejiang Geely, which owns the Volvo and Lotus car brands, has reportedly acquired flying car company Terrafugia.

EHang in Dubai

• 23 Aug 2017 01:36 PM
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The Chinese drone company, EHang, revealed in July that its EHang 184 eVTOL conducted numerous tests for Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), and that many passengers had been flown to date in China and Dubai.

Volocopter Gains Momentum

• 23 Aug 2017 01:34 PM
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Bruchsal, Germany-based Volocopter (previously known as “e-volo GmbH”) has continued its series of stunning announcements. The company, which made the world’s first manned multicopter flight in March 2016 with its VC200 eVTOL demonstrator, is preparing to fly its next aircraft, the pre-series 2X multicopter. The first 2X is complete and the second 2X is in fabrication.

A Little CityAirbus Flies

• 23 Aug 2017 01:30 PM
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Airbus Helicopters has unveiled more information about their CityAirbus quad duct electric VTOL. CityAirbus is a multi-passenger, self-piloted eVTOL demonstrator “designed for urban air mobility with cost efficiency, high-volume production and a low environmental footprint in mind.”

Vahana Comes Together

• 23 Aug 2017 01:22 PM
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A³ by Airbus Group, the company’s Silicon Valley outpost, is independently developing another eVTOL concept. The single-seat, self-piloted Vahana eVTOL uses four electric propellers each on its canard and aft wing.

From the Ground Up: Uber Elevate in 2020

• 22 Aug 2017 09:58 PM
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Since the release of the Uber Elevate white paper in October 2016, the San Francisco-based ride-sharing technology company has charged forward, widely sharing its vision of a revolutionary urban on-demand air network with a wide range of aerospace, municipal, real estate, financial, regulatory and other stakeholders.

Working Groups Developing Transformative Vertical Flight Roadmaps

• 22 Aug 2017 01:27 PM
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A confluence of technical, business and societal developments in recent years is driving an expectation that air transportation will be transformed to cut urban daily commute times dramatically, enable faster emergency response, and allow inter- and intra-city transportation at costs competitive to traveling by car, bus or train.

Is 2020 Really Possible? (sidebar)

• 22 Aug 2017 11:38 AM
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Uber said that by the time flight demonstration programs begin in 2020, they will have to validate that they have mitigated the three biggest risks: efficient flights (airspace acceptance), noise (community acceptance) and safety (passenger acceptance). Note that Uber is not funding the development of the aircraft, but is helping to facilitate connections between investors and developers.

Innovation in the Parisian Summer: Paris Air Show 2017 Report

• 22 Aug 2017 11:06 AM
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The aviation industry descended on the beautiful French capital once again over a very hot June, with air temperatures reaching above 95°F (35°C). This year saw not just current rotorcraft, but also future vertical flight innovations, particularly from American, French and Turkish industrial participants.