Beyond developing and producing an air vehicle that meets civil aviation authority certification standards, advanced air mobility companies also must certify how the aircraft will be serviced and maintained, and their flight operations also must be certified.
Helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft lessor LCI has placed a firm order for 50 Beta Technologies Alia-250 electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles with an option for another 75.
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.
A large white tent in the middle of an English Midland town center parking lot is providing the advanced air mobility industry with a sense of the infrastructure it may need to serve its customers.
Autonomous electric aircraft developer Pyka has closed a $37 million Series A funding round to support production of its Pelican uncrewed crop sprayer and develop a cargo version of the aircraft.
When Aviation Week’s Advanced Air Mobility Report began following the composite performance of AAM’s publicly traded stocks, it was a given that the composite would show the typical results of a startup company–in this case a group of companies.
In a bid to promote the commercialization of drone-based products and services, a plan to build a 165-mi. network of drone “superhighways” linking cities across the UK has been submitted by a consortium led by unified traffic management provider Altitude Angel.
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.
So far, Beta Technologies and Volocopter are showing it is possible to build a billion-dollar business in advanced air mobility without the distraction of going public.
Ferrovial Airports has appointed Bob Montgomery as head of vertiports business development and Brad Miller as vertiports managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
JetBlue Technology Ventures, the airline’s investment arm, has participated in a $13 million funding round by battery developer Electric Power Systems.
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.
