“Where’s my flying car?” may be the popular lament of disappointed futurists, but “Where’s the market?” is the more important question for startups trying to make roadable aircraft a reality. AeroMobil is targeting the exclusive clientele of supercar enthusiasts with its first product, the two-seat AeroMobil 4.0. But now the Slovakian startup is eyeing ride-hailing as a route to expanding the market.
To electrify future large commercial aircraft will require new wiring systems that can distribute tens of megawatts of power at thousands of volts safely and reliably at high altitudes.
U.S. business aviation traffic is up 11% so far in March compared to a year ago, following a 5% decline in January and February, according to WingX Advance data.
Sustainability of operations will be a key concern of the business aviation sector in a post-Brexit, post-COVID-19 world, according to speakers and attendees at the British Business and General Aviation Association’s annual conference.
Glenn Hogben was appointed CEO of The Air Charter Association, based in London, in January. Hogben joined The ACA in 2008 and was elected to the nonexecutive board in 2017.
Startup Reliable Robotics has remotely piloted a Cessna 208B Caravan from a ground station 50 mi. away, a key step toward certifying an autonomy retrofit for the aircraft that will enable unmanned regional cargo operations.
Norwegian domestic airline Widerøe has partnered with Rolls-Royce and Italy’s Tecnam to become the potential launch operator of the P-Volt electric-powered passenger aircraft.
Dassault Aviation’s Falcon 6X made its first flight on March 10 from Bordeaux-Merignac Airport, thus maintaining a key program on schedule as the company tries to regain lost market share in business aviation.
German aviation engineering services specialist Apus Group has begun construction of a hydrogen fuel-cell-powered four-seat aircraft which it plans to fly in mid-2023 and hopes to have on the market by 2025.
Archer has committed to launching an urban air mobility network in Miami by 2024 which will see Southern Florida join Los Angeles as a flagship market for the startup’s planned air taxi services.
The unnamed suitors are proposing to purchase the two companies—Piaggio Aviation and Piaggio Aero Industries—which form Villanova d’Albenga-based Piaggio Aerospace.
The market for pre-owned twin-engine helicopters dropped by half during the first half of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, but the segment finished the year with a 10% increase in sales compared to 2019, according to Aero Asset, a Toronto-based helicopter trading firm.
In response to higher power requirements for the emerging autonomous air cargo and urban air mobility markets, Honeywell is developing a 1-megawatt turbogenerator based on the company’s HGT1700 auxiliary power unit.
The entry into service of the new Falcon 6X is still scheduled for 2022, despite the difficulties that the COVID-19 crisis caused in the business jet’s development, according to Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier.
Bombardier plans to improve the profitability of its flagship Global 7500, boost aftermarket sales and increase annual revenue by $2 billion in five years as it shifts to a pure-play business jet company following the sale of its rail business in January, the company said during a Virtual Investor Day.
Boom Supersonic has secured a strategic investment from the venture capital arm of American Express which will support development of the Denver, Colorado-based aerospace company’s Mach 2-plus 88-seat Overture airliner project.
