Lake Forest, Calif. – July 15, 2019 – Karem Aircraft, Inc, a Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) vehicle developer, has announced a new spin-off venture dedicated to bringing its all-electric air taxi vehicle, Butterfly, to market. The new company is backed by a $25M Series A investment led by Hanwha Systems.
Two dozen of the world’s leading electric aircraft developers and technology experts will be speaking at the CAFE Foundation’s 13th Annual Electric Aircraft Symposium (EAS) at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, on July 20-21 — the weekend prior to the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) AirVenture 2019.
This year’s Paris Air Show (June 17-23, 2019) was packed with announcements — an entire industry boasting a more eco-friendly future for aviation worldwide.
Chief among those is the burgeoning Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market and the eVTOL platforms to serve it that are destined to fly within the next decade.
On May 29, Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based Alaka’i Technologies revealed a “non-flying prototype” of its hydrogen-powered Skai electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The unveiling was held in Newbury Park, California, at the facilities of BMW-owned global creative consultancy Designworks, which was contracted for the vehicle design, with a focus on the passenger experience.
VFS members and staff attended the 53rd biennial Paris Air Show at the Paris–Le Bourget Airport, June 17–23.
VFS covered the event on social media, and posting photos and updates on Twitter and Facebook. In addition, VFS has created an album of more than 60 pictures from the event in the Vertical Flight Photo Gallery.
In early June, Honeywell Aerospace and its partners announced several new deals to supply technology for eVTOL/UAM developers. Honeywell signed an agreement with “an unnamed air taxi developer” to supply multiple units of its new IntuVue RDR-84K Band Radar System: “The innovative, compact and lightweight software-based radar detects multiple obstacles in and around its flight path and is a major step toward automating the takeoff and landing of UAM aircraft.”
Two years after announcing plans to produce a five-seat, hydrogen-powered CityHawk eVTOL, Metro Skyways, a subsidiary of Urban Aeronautics, released more details of its design on June 2, including the hydrogen-based powertrain. While CityHawk will initially be powered by jet fuel in order to expedite its certification under the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) FAR Part 27, following certification it will be converted to 10,000 lb/in² (700 bar) compressed-hydrogen propulsion.
Volocopter and Skyports, Ltd. announced May 23 that they were cooperating to build the first mobile eVTOL landing pad. UK-based global heliport owner and operator Skyports and Germany-based Volocopter unveiled plans with “stunning designs produced by internationally renowned agency Brandlab.”
The Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom has launched a new virtual space in which new technology can be safely tested — the “Innovation Sandbox.” It is initially funded by a grant from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which has launched the Innovation Sandbox with six participants. Five companies — Altitude Angel, Amazon, NATS and Searidge Technologies, NBEC Consortium, and Nesta Challenges — are focused primarily on drones, artificial intelligence and airspace management. The sixth company is Volocopter.
On May 20, A³ by Airbus released new photos of its second Vahana demonstrator, “Alpha Two.” The first aircraft, Alpha One, is currently advancing through test flights; Alpha Two is the first Vahana demonstrator with a finished interior.
