Rolling Business Aviation Daily Briefs (April 2026)

April 22, 2026

Japan Joint Venture To Launch Electric Aircraft Demo

Japanese trading company Sojitz, package carrier Yamato Holdings and the city government of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture plan to launch an electric aircraft demonstration on April 9, using Beta Technologies’ Alia for cargo flights between Kitakyushu, Oita and Miyazaki airports in Kyushu.

Joby Partners With Air Space Intelligence

Joby Aviation has partnered with airspace simulation specialist Air Space Intelligence (ASI) to enable scaled eVTOL operations in U.S. national airspace with more automated airspace coordination to enable autonomous operations. The collaboration builds on ASI’s Flyways AI flow management platform, which uses 4D modeling to optimize flight operations. Joint live demonstrations are planned this year.

April 21, 2026

Eve Air Mobility Completes 50th Test Flight

Eve Air Mobility logged the 50th test flight with its full-scale eVTOL engineering prototype on April 9, accumulating more than 2 hours of flight time since the aircraft’s first flight on Dec. 19. Eve is expanding the flight envelope, increasing forward speed and aiming for full transition flights this year.

Horizon Aircraft Signs Deal With MHI RJ Aviation Group

Canadian eVTOL startup Horizon Aircraft has reached an agreement with Montreal-based MHI RJ Aviation Group, under which the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries subsidiary will develop flight test instrumentation for the hybrid-electric Cavorite X7, with testing planned to begin early in 2027.

April 20, 2026

DC Aviation Malta Opens Redesigned Facilities

DC Aviation Malta has opened redesigned private premium passenger and crew facilities at Malta International Airport, with separate passenger and crew lounges, private restrooms, a meeting room, and dedicated management and operations offices. The interior features natural materials and refined furnishings. The facility is located adjacent to aprons 2 and 3 at the airport. During technical stops, passengers are able to remain in the lounge steps from the aircraft. DC Aviation Malta is a certified business and general aviation handling company and a division of Germany-based DC Aviation Group.

Diehl Aviation To Open Romanian Production Facility In 2026

Diehl Aviation is expanding its operational footprint and making significant progress on its new production facility in Craiova, Romania, the company reported. Construction began in July 2025. The facility is expected to open in the summer of 2026, with production scheduled to begin in the autumn. The first employees have been training to meet company standards for processes, quality, and safety. When open, the site will employ about 75 workers, with plans to expand to up to 500 as manufacturing increases. The site will work closely with Diehl Aviation’s facilities in Germany and Hungary. Diehl Aviation is a supplier of cabin systems and ducting, cabin modules, and aircraft systems. Customers include manufacturers and operators of commercial, business, military and eVTOL aircraft.

April 17, 2026

Amazon Prime Air Drone Deliveries To Grow

Amazon plans to serve communities with 30 million customers by year-end with its Prime Air drone delivery service and expects to deliver half a billion packages by the end of this decade, CEO Andy Jassy said in a letter to shareholders.

Blue Spirit Aero Conducts High-Latitude Testing For Dragonfly

French startup Blue Spirit Aero has conducted high-latitude testing of a full-scale hydrogen propulsion pod for its planned six-seat Dragonfly. Housing a gaseous hydrogen tank, fuel cell, electric motor and propeller, the pod was tested to full power at 5,450 ft. altitude in the French Alps.

April 16, 2026

Washington State Tax Proposal On Some Aircraft Repealed

A grassroots coalition in Washington state comprised of business owners, National Business Aviation Association operating members and others from the state’s business aviation community, worked to successfully repeal a proposal that would have imposed a 10% tax on purchases of aircraft valued at more than $500,000. The tax, enacted in 2025, had been slated to take effect April 1, 2026. Instead, the proposal was replaced with a Senate bill, signed by Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, imposing a 7-cent increase to the aviation fuel tax and adjustment to aircraft registration fees.

AIRO Group Adjusts Development Plans

Loss-making AIRO Group has abandoned plans for subsidiary Jaunt Air Mobility to develop the Journey passenger eVTOL and instead pivoted to developing medium-lift, multirole uncrewed aircraft for defense and other markets using the same slowed-rotor compound rotorcraft configuration.

April 15, 2026

Tecnam, Cenfortec Partners On Flight Training

Tecnam and Cenfortec, a European aircraft maintenance technical school, have partnered to strengthen the connection between classroom education and the demands of the modern labor market and to enhance training programs. Cenfortec, established in Portugal in 2011, is currently training more than 300 students. The partnership expands internship opportunities and promotes hands-on, practical experience and the development of skills for their future careers, the companies say.

Textron Aviation Announces 2026 Top Hawk Recipients

Textron Aviation announced its 2026 Top Hawk program recipients, a manufacturer-training school partnership designed to support aviation workforce development. Under the program, Textron Aviation loans factory-new Cessna Skyhawks, outfitted with Garmin G1000 NXi avionics, ADSB and angle-of-attack safety technology, to selected organizations for one year to give students access to the latest aircraft and help schools modernize their fleets. The program, launched in 2015, has placed 55 new Skyhawks in training environments and has trained more than 1,000 students. Recipients of the 2026 program include Brazos Valley Flight Services, Executive Air Taxi Corp., Fairmont State University, Sterling Flight Training and Victors Aviation. Besides training, the schools also use the Top Hawk aircraft for community outreach, such as discovery flights, airshow appearances and youth aviation days.

April 14, 2026

Loganair Signs MoU With Beta Technologies For Alia Aircraft Testing

UK regional airline Loganair has signed an MoU with Beta Technologies to further test the Alia electric aircraft across its network after completing a 10-day, 23-flight demonstration program flying postal routes for Royal Mail with an average energy efficiency of 1.37 kWh/nm.

Manna Air Delivery To Expand In U.S.

Irish drone delivery startup Manna Air Delivery has raised $50 million to expand to 40 bases in the U.S. Operating in Ireland, Finland and Texas, Manna has partnerships with Deliveroo, DoorDash, Just East and Uber and the Series B founding round takes the total raised to $110 million.

April 13, 2026

Hopscotch Air To Help Archer Explore, Test Concepts

Long Island-based air taxi operator Hopscotch Air, which flies Cirrus SR22s, is working with Archer Aviation, providing input based on its experience as a regional air mobility operator to help Archer to explore and test concepts related to future AAM operations.

LAT Aerospace Lat One v0.2 Crashes On Roll Testing

Indian startup LAT Aerospace’ subscale technology demonstrator, Lat One v0.2, crashed during a ground roll test on Apr. following a successful first flight on Apr. 2. LAT plans to develop a ducted-fan blown-wing ultra-short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft. The v0.1 demonstrator crashed shortly after takeoff in January.

April 10, 2026

Doroni Aerospace Unveils H1-X eVTOL

U.S. startup Doroni Aerospace has unveiled a full-scale engineering model of its planned H1-X two-seat personal eVTOL. Targeting for deliveries beginning in 2028, the vehicle features a tandem wing configuration and electric ducted fan propulsion system.

FlyOnE Secures Investment

Australian electric aviation operator and infrastructure developer FlyOnE has secured additional strategic investment as part of a Series A funding round ahead of a planned initial public offering. Investors include Perth, Western Australia-based family office Aethereum Capital.

April 9, 2026

AEP 100 Turboprop Conducts First Flight

A 7.5 metric-ton uncrewed cargo aircraft powered by Aero Engine Corp, of China’s hydrogen-combustion AEP100 turboprop conducted its first flight on Apr. 4 in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, reached 220 kph (137 mph) and 300 m (980 ft.), according to the Xinhua news agency.

Cutter Aviation Opens New Colorado Maintenance Facility

Cutter Aviation, a Pilatus Authorized Sales and Service Center, has opened a new maintenance facility at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC) in Broomfield, Colorado. The 22,000 ft2 facility, now fully operational and featuring hangar and office space, operates as a designated Service Bulletin Modification Center. The center is focused on completing service bulletins for the Pilatus PC-24. It also provides comprehensive maintenance support for the Pilatus PC-12 and PC-24. Cutter Aviation plans to begin construction later in 2026 on a second hangar with 22,000 ft2 at the same location. Cutter operates five full-service maintenance centers across the Southwest.

April 8, 2026

Vertical Aerospace Selects Isoclima Group For Windshields

Vertical Aerospace has selected Italy’s Isoclima Group to supply the full set of transparencies for the Valo eVTOL air taxi, including bird strike-resistant windshields, adding to a supply chain that includes Aciturri, Evolito, Honeywell and Syensqo.

Battery System For XPeng’s Aridge XF-3 Rolls Off Production Line

The first battery system for XPeng subsidiary Aridge’s XF-3, the eVTOL half of its Land Aircraft Carrier drive-fly combination, has rolled off Chinese electric-vehicle battery maker CALB’s production line in Chengdu. The system uses CALB’s R46 solid-liquid hybrid cylindrical cell, which has an energy density of 360 Wh/kg.

April 7, 2026

 Sunvair Acquires Miami-based Med-Craft

Tulsa-based Sunvair has completed the acquisition of Med-Craft, a Miami-based, family-owned repair and overhaul aviation services provider. The deal includes Med-Craft and its Med-Air divisions. Med-Craft has been in business for 55 years. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition increases Sunvair’s overall capabilities and is part of the company’s growth strategy, officials say.

True Blue Power Adds TC800 Series Converters To Product Line

Wichita-based True Blue Power has introduced the new modular TC800 Series Converters designed for business and commercial aircraft, VIP cabins and special mission applications. The units convert 3-phase 115 VAC (360-800 Hz) into a 28 VDC output for IFE systems, USB chargers, avionics and other equipment. The units provide continuous power during input voltage dropouts when paired with the tC800 Series Hold-up Module.

April 3, 2026

ePropelled Opens Global Innovation Center

UK drone propulsion producer ePropelled has opened its Global Innovation Center in Coventry, England, as part of an expansion to scale production beyond 1 million propulsion systems annually by 2027. The company produces electric motors from 260 watts to 10 kW and works with Germany’s Hirth Engines on hybrid propulsion systems.

Gama Aviation Expands Training Portfolio

Gama Aviation has expanded its engineering training portfolio with the UK CAA’s approval of its Part 147 Training Needs Analysis and course approvals for the Leonardo AW139 twin-engine helicopter.

April 2, 2026

Aria Group Launches Aria Aerospace Technologies

Prototyping specialist Aria Group, which has worked with Otto Aerospace, Supernal, Wisk and Whisper Aero, has launched Aria Aerospace Technologies to expand its composites engineering, low-volume and serial manufacturing for the aerospace, AAM, defense, uncrewed aircraft and space sectors.

Diamond Aircraft Enhances Special Mission Capabilities

Diamond Aircraft’s Special Mission Aircraft Division has unveiled a number of technical developments for its Diamond DA62 MPP aircraft. For one, it demonstrated Starlink Mini connectivity through flight trials validating high-bandwidth airborne connectivity; certified its Maximum Take-Off Mass increase from 2,300 kg (5,070 lb.) to 2,360 kg, allowing operators to carry additional mission equipment, sensors or fuel; certified the DA62 for flight into known icing for dedicated MPP configurations, and certified the aircraft an integrated diversity transponder to improve visibility and communication robustness with ground-based and space-based ADS-B receivers. For 2026, Diamond will offer improved BLOS radome, a dedicated tail-mounted camera integrated into the Garmin G1000 MFD for improved situational awareness, introduce a supplemental type certificate for the installation of non-eye-safe lasers and a new pod for integration of multimission surveillance radars and a new universal mounting frame.

April 1, 2026

Advanced Aviation Adds Hourly Priced Jet Card

Advanced Aviation, a charter aircraft advisory firm founded by Gregg Brunson-Pitts, has introduced a new jet card program called Ambassador, an hourly-priced private aviation program, which pairs service with transparent hourly pricing.

AIR Books Preorders For AIR One eVTOL

Israel’s AIR says it has booked more than 3,300 preorders for its AIR One two-seat personal eVTOL, including roughly 350 secured by deposits and 25 confirmed, deposit-backed orders for the uncrewed heavylift cargo version, of which two aircraft have already been delivered.