AutoFlight aims to fast-track service entry for its four-seat Prosperity I eVTOL aircraft based in part on operational experience it expects to gain by flying cargo operations with an autonomous version of the design called CarryAll. The Shanghai-based company believes it can offer a price point of no more than $150,000 per aircraft and that by bypassing the aviation sector for both manufacturing and commercial operations it could achieve operating costs as low as $50 per flight hour.

Joby says no injuries resulted from an accident with one of its two eVTOL aircraft prototypes, which is now being investigated. The remotely piloted flight was being conducted in an uninhabited area in California. The company has yet to publish details of any damage to the aircraft or how the incident may impact its flight test program.

Airbus and aircraft engine maker CFM International will convert an A380 airliner to run on a hydrogen propulsion system that the companies are developing for the planned ZeroE aircraft that could be ready to enter commercial service in 2035. The flying testbed aircraft could be airborne in 2026 under a plan that will see the A380 fitted with a GE Passport business aircraft turbofan and run on hydrogen combustion.

H2Fly believes that it will take another seven to eight years to get a hydrogen-powered Part 25-certified fixed-wing aircraft into commercial service, and around four to five years before we see smaller Part 23-approved models that could include eVTOL aircraft. The German company is working on a hydrogen powertrain—using a combination of fuel cells, liquid hydrogen, and electric motors—that it says could eventually support flights of up to 2,500 km with 40 passengers.

Over the next two years, a working group led by Wisk will perform an analysis of the economic effect and workforce development, community acceptance and outreach, integration of autonomous eVTOL aircraft into transportation plans, and federal and state government funding opportunities in Long Beach, California.

During the Singapore Airshow, Rolls-Royce, Embraer, and Scandinavian airline Wideroe launched a study to evaluate options to bring a zero-emissions regional airliner to market. In Norway, where Wideroe is based, the government has announced a policy that would require domestic scheduled flights to be fully electric no later than 2040, with initial services starting around 2030.

MightyFly claims that its MF-100 autonomous cargo aircraft has the potential to significantly reduce the costs of logistics operations by removing multiple-leg journeys and using an automated loading process. A prototype of the hybrid-electric vehicle has conducted initial hover testing and will soon transition to cruise flight as it prepares to operate in sectors of up to 600 miles with payloads of 100 pounds.

New 5G communications technology has been identified as a potentially enabling component in efforts to support highly automated, and potentially autonomous, new aircraft, such as eVTOL air taxis, in starting high-volume operations in public airspace. But in recent months, 5G wireless networks being deployed by companies like Verizon and AT&T in the U.S. have rung alarm bells for airlines concerned about unsafe interference with the radar altimeters of their aircraft. In the AINDebrief podcast, AIN contributing editor Mark Huber talks us through these concerns and how they are being addressed in the short and longer terms.

NFT's four-seat hybrid-electric Aska vehicle is larger than other "flying car" concepts and is billed as more of a "flying SUV" that will be certified under Part 23 rules but marketed to self-flying owners. The program has been in the works for four years, and in April 2021 the California start-up unveiled a completely new design, promising greater payload and range.