2024 in Review: Advanced Air Mobility

Joby Aviation in February partnered with Skyports Infrastructure and the Dubai government’s Roads and Transport Authority to launch air taxi service in the Emirate by 2026. Rival Archer Aviation followed up with an agreement to launch services in Abu Dhabi on a similar timescale.

Chinese startup Autoflight received a type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China for its CarryAll uncrewed cargo electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicle in March, becoming the first company in the world to certify a lift-plus-cruise eVTOL.

Joby Aviation in June began flight tests of a S4 tiltprop eVTOL prototype powered by a hybrid hydrogen-electric propulsion system, developed in-house with German subsidiary and fuel-cell powertrain specialist H2Fly. The aircraft ultimately conducted a 561-mi. remotely piloted flight.

Unither Bioelectronics in August announced plans to collaborate with Robinson Helicopter on development of hydrogen-electric versions of the R44 and R66 light helicopters for zero-emission delivery of manufactured organs for human transplantation.

Rolls-Royce shut down its electrical propulsion unit, Rolls-Royce Electrical, at the end of September, having failed to find a buyer for the business. The move ended 10 months of uncertainty after CEO Tufan Erginbilgic announced a sweeping, company-wide restructuring plan in November 2023.

The FAA has issued its long-awaited Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) for powered-lift operations and pilot certification in October, paving the way for the launch of commercial eVTOL air taxi services in the U.S., expected in 2026.

Lilium filed for insolvency at the end of October after failing to secure loan guarantees from the German federal and Bavarian state governments. Now operating under self-administration, the startup is continuing to develop the Lilium Jet eVTOL air taxi as it seeks new funding or a buyer.

Startup Electra.aero unveiled the design of its EL9 Ultra Short hybrid-electric short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft in November, aiming for service entry in 2029. The EL9 is designed to carry nine passengers or 3,000 lb. of cargo 330 nm at a cruise speed of 175 kt. with takeoff and landing ground rolls of 150 ft.

Airbus conducted the first hover flight of its CityAirbus NextGen full-size eVTOL prototype in Donauworth, Germany, on Nov. 6. The four-seat winged multicopter vehicle is designed to have a 50-mi. operational range and a cruise speed of 75 mph.

Beta Technologies on Nov. 13 conducted the piloted first flight of a conventional-takeoff-and-landing CX300 Alia CTOL, the first electric aircraft to roll off the startup’s production line at its factory in Burlington, Vermont. Certification is planned for 2025.