Honda Achieves First Full-scale eVTOL Flight

Honda has completed the first flight of its full-scale eVTOL technology demonstrator, the company revealed last week via a video posted to X (formerly Twitter). According to Honda, the remotely piloted aircraft flew for about 90 seconds on April 1 at the company’s test facility in San Luis Obispo, California.

Whisper Promises Near-VTOL At Half the Thrust

Whisper Aero says it has found a way to make its electric ducted fans lift an aircraft nearly vertically from a helipad-sized footprint while using about half the thrust a conventional eVTOL needs to hover, the Tennessee start-up announced on Tuesday. Rather than takeoff straight up, an aircraft powered by the company's JetFoil technology would roll about 50 feet—less than a conventional short-takeoff-and-land aircraft needs—and lift off within the same area a helicopter or eVTOL would use.

Fuel Crisis Raises Stakes In Chase For Alternatives

The chronic shortage of jet fuel caused by the ongoing wartime closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed the air transport sector's vulnerability to geopolitics. At the same time, the industry is supposed to be focused on meeting its Net Zero decarbonization commitments—a confluence that raises questions around how to reconcile short-term imperatives with longer-term objectives.

Electra Makes First 'Ultra Short' Urban Demo Flight

Electra Aero has completed the first urban flight of its hybrid-electric EL2 ‘ultra-short’ technology demonstrator aircraft, landing on a pier in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. The exceptional short takeoff and landing performance is based on the blown-lift technology being used to develop the full-scale EL9 aircraft it aims to certify under U.S. Part 23 rules in 2029.

Camcopter S-300 Selected for Anti-Sub Evaluation

The European Defence Fund has selected Schiebel’s Camcopter S-300 uncrewed air system to be assessed as part of a European Union-backed initiative to mature anti-submarine technology. Based on a June 1 announcement, the S-300 will be part of the Stand-off anti-submarine Warfare Operations by Remote Deployment program.

Micro Sensors Could Deliver More Consistent Air Data

Certification Center Canada is teaming with UK start-up Surrey Sensors to develop a new type of air data instrument for aircraft that avoids the vulnerabilities of current sensors to factors such as vibration and pitot tube blockages involving ice, water, and debris. The partners have secured funding from the National Research Council of Canada and Innovate UK to produce more advanced prototypes of the technology over the next 18 months.

China's Volant Aerotech Secures eVTOL Funding

Chinese eVTOL aircraft developer Volant Aerotech has completed its second major funding milestone within a month. Its Series C financing round— which the company says has raised nearly RMB 1 billion ($150 million)—will be used to advance its VE25-100 Skylar model towards certification.

Blackshape Unveils Plans for Hybrid-electric ePrime Two-seat Aircraft

The new ePrime hybrid-electric member of Blackshape’s family of light aircraft could fly for between three and five hours, depending on payload and how many batteries are fitted. The Italian company is also targeting the surveillance market with plans to add an uncrewed version.

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