Projects to use drones to deliver COVID-19 supplies are among the first wave of winners under the UK’s £125 million ($165 million) Future Flight Challenge.
South Korea staged its first urban air mobility demonstration in Seoul on Nov. 11, including drone and electric air taxi demonstrations using the developmental K-Drone low-altitude traffic management system.
Backed by 11 years of technology development, a new startup has been launched onto the market to provide electric propulsion systems for aircraft, starting with drones but aiming ultimately at urban air mobility.
Spanish air navigation service provider Enaire plans urban air mobility demonstrations in Barcelona and Santiago de Compostela in 2022 under two projects funded by Europe’s Horizon 2020 research program through the SESAR air traffic management modernization effort.
Designers of urban air taxis are quick to correct anyone who calls their vehicles “flying cars,” as most are intended to fly over cities and not drive on the streets.
Carter Aviation Technologies’ PAV4 gyroplane prototype has returned to flight as a technology demonstrator for Jaunt Air Mobility’s Journey electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing air taxi.
North Dakota officials have announced the establishment of a statewide network for flying unmanned aircraft systems beyond visual line of sight of an operator, supported by a ground-based surveillance and communications infrastructure.
The Canadian Advanced Air Mobility consortium has been launched in Vancouver, British Columbia, with the goal of accelerating the development and commercialization of electric vertical-takeoff aircraft.
Charging infrastructure is cited as one of barriers to be overcome if electric aviation is to take off, and a Californian company is demonstrating how chargers can be provided at small airports while avoiding the challenges of permitting and construction.
As it looks ahead to certifying its VoloCity electric air taxi by the end of 2022, Germany’s Volocopter is working with a Lufthansa subsidiary to build the digital backbone for its planned urban air mobility service.
In an effort to facilitate the integration of unmanned aviation into everyday life, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has approved an initial batch of test sites in 13 cities across the country.
