Aerospace

Vertical Aerospace has announced the appointment of Stuart Simpson as new CEO, replacing founder Stephen Fitzpatrick, who will join the company’s board of directors.

The Royal Aeronautical Society has released a briefing paper that serves as a “pre-mortem approach” to eVTOL safety, attempting to anticipate challenges.

The country is shaking up space exploration, commerce and the broader geopolitical picture.

The Alia eVTOL makes the first piloted full transitions between vertical and horizontal flight.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft and Survivable Airborne Operations Center selections favor private companies as major primes set sights on larger awards.

Swiss electric propulsion developer H55 has announced the commercialization and opening of the orderbook for the Bristell B23 Energic.

EMBRAER named its 10 Suppliers of the Year: DSV, Brazil; NOVELIS, Germany; FASTWORK, Brazil; FACC, Austria; DIEHL AVIATION, Germany; GARMIN; IAE; LIEBHERR, Germany; FOKKER, The Netherlands; and GE AEROSPACE.

EVE AIR MOBILITY joined Japan’s Advanced Air Mobility Public-Private Committee to study AAM regulations/policies.

Tongyu Xu to Chief Sustainability Officer of FACC, Austria.

Rod Zastrow to President and Chief Executive Officer of Bye Aerospace, Denver.

ROBINSON HELICOPTER secured FAA approval for new empennage design for 2-seat R22, which includes a symmetric horizontal stabilizer and tailcone; design is now standard on new aircraft and available as a retrofit kit for in-service R22s.

MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES established a subsidiary in Vietnam.

Phill Godfrey to Chief Sustainability Officer of Collins Aerospace.

MTU AERO ENGINES had €126m net profit on €1.65b revenues in 1Q24 vs €134m on €1.54b in 1Q23; it has €25.4b backlog.

EATON AEROSPACE earned $201m on $871m sales in 1Q24 vs $180m on $803m in 1Q23; y-o-y backlog rose 11%.

TRIMAS AEROSPACE earned $7.2m on $67.3m sales in 1Q24 vs $1.4m on $50m in 1Q23.

ATI had $66.1m net income on $1.04b sales (60% aerospace and defense) in 1Q24 vs $145.7m on $1.06b in 1Q23.

AEFP GROUP, PA acquired TRINITY AEROSPACE, Canada ( sheet metal/machined detail parts and assemblies).

JOBY AVIATION is expanding its pilot production facility in Marina, CA to more than double its manufacturing footprint starting in 2025 under plan to produce up to 500 aircraft per year; it also rolled out its second production aircraft.

Firefly Aerospace and Northrop Grumman remain on track to debut the new Antares 330 launch vehicle in 2025.

Whisper Aero is building its aerospace business around a seemingly unlikely product—a leaf blower.

China’s EHang has filed a shelf registration to sell up to $100 million in new shares via a public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The work will culminate with flights of a De Havilland Dash 7 regional airliner modified with a hybrid-electric propulsion system in 2026.

The Tikehau Aero Partenaires 2 fund is aimed at supporting small- and medium-size companies in the aerospace sector.

European satellite communications provider SES is to buy U.S.-based rival Intelsat in a bid to tackle competition from other low-Earth-orbit services.