Advanced Air Mobility Highlights Of 2023

Launching a busy year for the emerging Chinese electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) industry, Shanghai-based startup Volant Aerotech flew its VE25 X1 full-scale technology demonstrator on Jan. 18. The VE25 is a five-seater with a lift-plus-cruise configuration.
 

Aerofugia, a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely, conducted the first flight of its AE200 X01 full-scale eVTOL demonstrator. In April, the Chengdu-based company began working with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on certification of the five-seat AE200.

European drone airline Dronamics flew its Black Swan uncrewed cargo aircraft for the first time in Bulgaria on May 25. The aircraft is designed to fly 770 lb. of cargo up to 1,550 mi. Dronamics plans to launch operations early in 2024, flying same-day deliveries to Greek islands.

The FAA in June published for comment its much-anticipated notice of proposed rulemaking for a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) establishing the operating rules and pilot certification requirements for powered-lift eVTOL vehicles. The agency plans to finalize the SFAR by the end of 2024.

Archer Aviation reached a settlement with rival eVTOL startup Wisk Aero and its parent Boeing in August, resolving a lawsuit alleging Archer stole Wisk trade secrets. Under the settlement, Archer agreed to make Wisk its exclusive provider of autonomy technology for future variants of its aircraft.

Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 full-scale VTOL demonstrator was damaged in a hard landing on Aug. 9 after a propeller blade separated during an uncrewed test flight. A second demonstrator is planned to fly early in 2024, and a third aircraft is expected to join the flight-test program later in the year.

Joby Aviation selected Dayton, Ohio, as the site for its full-scale production facility in September. The startup flew its first pilot-production eVTOL in July, delivered an aircraft to the U.S. Air Force in September, began piloted flights in October and flew from a heliport in New York in November.
 

EH216-S

The nonconforming first prototype of Archer’s Midnight eVTOL made its uncrewed first hover flight on Oct. 24. Crewed testing of conforming prototypes of the piloted four-passenger aircraft is planned to begin in 2024, and Archer is aiming to launch commercial air taxi service in 2025.

Chinese startup Vertaxi conducted the first uncrewed flight of its M1 full-scale eVTOL demonstrator on Oct. 31 in the village of Jinsan, near Shanghai. The five-seat M1 is a lift-plus-cruise design with 16 rotors for lift in vertical flight and four propellers for propulsion in wingborne cruise flight.

Yet another Chinese startup, Shanghai-based TCab Technology flew its E20 full-scale, uncrewed eVTOL demonstrator on Nov. 24. Powered by Safran motors, the five-seat E20 has eight rotors, two for lift only and six that tilt between vertical and horizontal flight.
 

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) flew its its uncrewed eVTOL technology demonstrator—the single-seat Optionally Piloted Personal Air Vehicle (OPPAV)—in public for the first time on Nov. 3, making an uncrewed flight at the Goheung Aviation Test Center in rural South Korea.