The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is to cooperate with Kawasaki Heavy Industries on the development of core technologies for hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft.
Operating a regional airport in Britain in the early 2020s appears to be an exercise in balancing risks against opportunities, ambition against pragmatism.
The first flights of an all-electric aircraft designed and built in the UK have been accomplished under a project led by Cranfield University as part of the UK government-supported Future Flight Challenge.
Electric propulsion startup MagniX is teaming with flight test specialists AeroTEC and Canadian operator Air Tindi to convert a De Havilland Canada Dash 7 into a testbed for NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project.
UK startup Vertical Aerospace has pushed back certification and first deliveries of its VX4 air taxi to 2025, from 2024, as it prepares to begin flight tests of its full-scale demonstrator in summer 2022.
With modification of the Cessna 172 Skyhawk and 208 Caravan to autonomous operation already under its belt, Reliable Robotics has received an Air Force Research Laboratory contract to demonstrate autonomous capabilities on U.S. Air Force aircraft.
Design changes and component supply issues have pushed back the first flight of the certification prototype for Harbour Air Seaplanes’ conversion of the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver to electric propulsion.
VoltAero’s Cassio 1 hybrid-electric testbed aircraft is anticipated to surpass 10,000 km of flight en route to the AERO Friedrichshafen general aviation trade show in Germany.
Chinese startup TCab Tech has conducted transition flight tests with a 50%-scale demonstrator of its planned E20 electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxi.
Vertical Aerospace expects to certificate its VX4 air taxi concurrently with the UK and Europe, with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency agreeing to validate UK Civil Aviation Authority type certification of the electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.
As it ground-tests a 2-megawatt electric motor with the intent of converting a 100-seat regional jet to zero-emission propulsion, Wright Electric has received a U.S. Air Force contract to modify the technology into a lightweight, high-power generator as a battlefield recharger for electrified vehicles.
BAE Systems plans to provide energy-management components, including the battery and cabling, for the megawatt-class hybrid electric propulsion system being developed by GE Aviation under the recently awarded NASA Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project.
German hydrogen propulsion startup H2Fly has claimed the first flight by a hydrogen-powered passenger aircraft between two commercial airports after flying its four-seat HY4 testbed from its base in Stuttgart to Friedrichshafen for display at the upcoming Aero Friedrichshafen show.
Despite advances in electric propulsion and battery energy density, as well as a patent filing showing its interest in hybrid-electric systems, Bell is taking a more conventional route to AFWerx’s High-Speed Vertical Takeoff and Landing Challenge.
Safran is gaining experience in electric propulsion, testing prototypes and studying aircraft architectures as it positions itself as the supplier of a full range of motors for all-electric and hybrid propulsion systems, from light aircraft to narrowbodies.
Bcomp, a Swiss startup producing composites using natural fibers, has received an investment from Airbus Ventures as part of a CHF34 million ($35 million) Series B financing round led by BMW i Ventures.
A hybrid-electric power system designed for applications ranging from drones to uncrewed cargo aircraft and passenger air taxis has been unveiled by startup LaunchPoint Electric Propulsion Solutions.
Austrian startup CycloTech and Japanese package carrier Yamato have completed a study into the feasibility of developing an uncrewed cargo aircraft using thrust-vectoring cyclorotor propulsion to operate in confined urban areas, even in high winds.
At first, advanced air mobility flights will be piloted. But the industry widely agrees its aircraft must become autonomous at some point if operations are to scale up to hoped-for high volumes. Rather than if, the debate centers largely on when.
German startup Theion is targeting electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft as an early market for solid-state, lithium-sulfur batteries that promise three times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion cells.
