Advanced Air Mobility

MROs and aftermarket technology providers are establishing partnerships to get a foothold in the emerging advanced air mobility segment.

Joby Aviation has confirmed that launch of its aerial ridesharing service has been delayed to 2025, citing the FAA’s change of direction on certification and internal challenges related to the startup’s vertical integration.

Ferrovial Vertiports CEO Kevin Cox expects the growth of the urban air mobility industry to be “exponential” once the first air taxis enter service.

VoltAero has secured Italian aerospace components and structures producer TESI as a strategic investor and industrial partner as part of a €32 million ($31.6 million) Series B fundraising round.

AAM stocks rose an average 3% in the week ending Oct. 31, but did not keep pace with the 6% increase recorded by the broad-based S&P 500.

UPS Flight Forward, the package carrier’s uncrewed aircraft division, is looking ahead to a vertical takeoff and landing demonstration flight direct to a UPS center using Beta Technologies’ Alia-250.

German urban air mobility startup Volocopter has secured an additional $182 million in funding, with Saudi Arabian smart city Neom and Hong Kong-based GLy Capital Management as new investors.

A320becomes hydrogen laboratory; China’s large cargo UAV; Embraer’s autonomous bizjet vision; and XPeng’s drive/fly eVTOL.

Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel, now part of Textron Aviation, announced on Oct. 31 that it has delivered the first Velis Electro electric airplane in Canada.

Self-piloted recreational flights over the Hudson and East Rivers in New York could begin as early as 2023 using Lift Aircraft’s single-seat, semi-autonomous Hexa electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle.

As it looks ahead to certification and operation of its urban air mobility vehicles, China’s EHang has formed a partnership with commercial aircraft maintenance provider HAECO Group to develop after-sales support for its autonomous air vehicles.

A Robinson R44 converted to electrified propulsion by Tier 1 Engineering has completed the first helicopter flight between airfields solely on electric power.

On the heels of listing publicly, startup Amprius has signed a 3-year agreement to supply its high-energy-density batteries to BA Systems’ Air business for use in electrically powered flight applications.

TESTING Umiles Next and research partner Tecnalia have conducted a second test flight of the Concept Integrity multicopter eVTOL prototype at the

South Korea’s SK Telecom has signed an agreement with Daegu Metropolitan City to integrate urban air taxis into the future mobility ecosystem of the country’s fourth largest city and its planned new airport.

Another design has been added to the list of large uncrewed cargo aircraft under development in China, with Sichuan Tengden Science & Technology conducting the first flight of its Twin-Tailed Scorpion D on Oct. 25.

China flies new UAS; Aero Vodochody’s L-159 upgrade; MDA receives NGI software build; and Lockheed to make PRSM missiles in 2023.

Embraer has joined Bombardier in providing its vision of a business jet of the future, with sustainability as a central tenet of their designs.

South Korean advanced air mobility startup MintAir plans to purchase up to 10 zero-emission aircraft from Australia’s Dovetail Electric Aircraft for proposed regional cargo services.

Saudi Arabian flag carrier Saudia has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lilium for the proposed development and operation of an electric vertical takeoff and landing network.

In the range of solutions to drive aviation to a greener future, none alone will come close to being a silver bullet by 2050.

Airports and fixed-base operators that plan to service electric air vehicles should have plans in place at least a year ahead of their arrival, says the developer of the Alia-250 electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

Monte Aircraft Leasing has placed a firm order with hybrid-electric propulsion startup Ampaire for 25 Eco Caravans with an option for an additional 25 of the converted Cessna Grand Caravans.

Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng has unveiled a revised design for its planned fly/drive electric vertical takeoff and landing “flying car.”

The initial flight will be “very short” and will set the stage for a series of follow-on flight tests of the fixed-wing demonstrator.