Wing is expanding its drone delivery operations from smaller towns into more complex urban areas with plans to begin on-demand store-to-door deliveries in metropolitan Dallas-Fort Worth.
In July 2019, research and development center Tecnalia in Spain’s Basque region conducted tethered indoor test flights of the prototype of an unusual “drone of drones” design for an autonomous air taxi. Now Spanish unmanned aircraft services provider Umiles has acquired the design from Tecnalia with the goal of producing the first 100% domestically developed electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicle.
Startup ZeroAvia has partnered with Mitsubishi’s CRJ support division, MHI RJ Aviation, to develop hydrogen-electric propulsion for regional jets, aiming for market availability in 2028.
Airflow has signed a memorandum of understanding with Honeywell to explore use of the avionics manufacturer’s IntuVue RDR-84K compact multimode radar for detect-and-avoid on its planned electric short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.
Singapore-headquartered H3 Dynamics has closed a $26 million funding round to develop hydrogen-powered unmanned aircraft for longer-range parcel and cargo delivery.
Aircraft finance and asset management company Amedeo has entered a strategic partnership with Aura Aero that includes a letter of intent to purchase 200 of the French startup’s planned 19-seat ERA hybrid-electric regional aircraft.
Backed by Chinese electric car maker XPeng, startup HT Aero has reached agreement to raise more than $500 million to develop an integrated flying and driving vehicle.
With investors including Alaska Air Group, UP.Partners has closed a $230 million early stage venture capital fund dedicated to supporting companies enabling future mobility.
Honda made the top 20 list of advanced air mobility vehicle manufacturers in the latest AAM Reality Index rankings, sliding into the 13th position based on plans to build out a mobility ecosystem centered on electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles.
Developments in electric vertical takeoff and landing and hybrid-powered aircraft continue to gain momentum, and the assertion is that there will be an impact on business aviation. But what is this projected impact going to be?
The British Business General Aviation Association (BBGA) says business aviation demand has already surpassed prepandemic levels in parts of the UK, but challenges remain, ranging from lingering Brexit-related issues to tackling sustainability.
Fuel-cell developer and green-hydrogen producer Plug Power has announced partnerships with both Airbus and startup Airflow to bring zero-emission hydrogen propulsion to aviation.
The state of Ohio will be home to the new National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence, funded through a $6 million grant from the U.S. Defense Department.
Already a major market for helicopters, Brazil is shaping up as a potential promising region for advanced air mobility if conditional aircraft orders are a guide.
Embraer and its EmbraerX market accelerator have made a number of announcements in the past week—all signaling a drive to play in the advanced air mobility market.
The lineup of commitments for almost 4,000 aircraft so far assembled by the nascent electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing industry paints an interesting picture of the potential customer base.
Where several of its rival electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) developers have chosen to be vertically integrated, Vertical Aerospace is relying on Tier 1 suppliers funding their own technology development work in return for gaining access to a new aviation market.
The companies say they will work together to accelerate the entry of Pyka’s autonomous aircraft into the precision agriculture sector and “pursue opportunities to scale commercial services as autonomous aircraft operations in Brazil evolve in the coming years.”
Looking to gain experience and revenue from an earlier market entry, UK startup Samad Aerospace plans to develop manned and unmanned versions of a half-scale model built to flight test the configuration of the company’s planned e-Starling hybrid-electric vertical-takeoff business aircraft.
After announcing a joint venture in June, startup Xeriant has agreed to merge with XTI Aircraft in a bid to secure the funding needed to develop the TriFan 600 hybrid-electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing business aircraft.
