Bell has continued developments of its Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) tailsitting eVTOL cargo drone. On Dec. 9, Bell flew its APT 70 with 110 lb (50 kg) of payload over an 8-mile (12.9-km) route at Bell’s testing site near Fort Worth, Texas.
Designers of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft typically envision multi-propeller air taxis controlled by RPM or collective blade pitch. The Eagle Flight Research Center (EFRC) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University built a hovering multi-rotor testbed to try rotor speed, collective pitch and helicopter-style cyclic pitch in normal and emergency situations.
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.
Archer, a leading Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) company and developer of all-electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft, and Atlas Crest Investment Corp. (NYSE: ACIC), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination that would result in Archer becoming a publicly listed company.
Joby Aviation, a transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (‘eVTOL’) aircraft, which it intends to operate as a commercial passenger aircraft from 2024, today announced that it has begun generating revenue as part of achieving another major milestone in the Agility Prime program.
Fairfax, Virginia, USA — The Vertical Flight Society (VFS), the world’s leading non-profit organization working to advance vertical flight, reports today that the growth of world’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developments have continued apace despite the global pandemic.
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.
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.
By Kenneth I. Swartz
Vertiflite, Jan/Feb 2021
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.
