Archer Aviation has completed the preliminary design review for the initial production version of its eVTOL air taxi and revealed the name of the aircraft. Dubbed “Midnight,” Archer's eVTOL is on track to enter service by 2025, company officials told investors in a quarterly earnings call on August 11. On August 10, the company reported that it had received a $10 million down payment from United Airlines for the first 100 of 200 production eVTOLs United had provisionally agreed to buy in February 2021.

The United States Department of Defense is expanding its contract with California-based eVTOL developer Joby, establishing a new partnership between the company and the Marine Corps.

American Airlines has placed the first non-refundable deposit on a prospective order for Boom's Overture supersonic airliner, with plans to take up to 60 of the new aircraft. Boom, which still needs to get backing from an engine manufacturer, says it aims to build a prototype in 2025 and begin deliveries in 2029.

Airo Group, which includes eVTOL aircraft developer Jaunt Air Mobility, has filed a confidential S-1 registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to seek approval for an initial public offering. In addition to focusing on eVTOL technology, the company is involved with avionics, drones, and training.

Experts gathered at the Vertical Flight Society's recent Electric Aircraft Symposium pointed to numerous roadblocks to putting the proper infrastructure in place for advanced air mobility, such as raising sufficient capital, finding acceptable locations, and completing the appropriate studies.

The UK’s Cranfield Aerospace Solutions has seen its current investment round increase to £14.4 million with a fresh funding injection by the Tawazun Economic Council of the UAE and California-based Motus Ventures.

Eviation is still on track to perform the first test flight of its all-electric Alice aircraft this summer, company officials told FutureFlight. The electric aircraft start-up teased new photos of the Alice on Twitter this week, showing the nine-passenger aircraft on the tarmac at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, where the first test flight is expected to occur sometime in the next five weeks. 

Can a private jet be an environmentally sustainable mode of transportation? Some might find the notion laughable, but Bombardier and other manufacturers are preparing for a green future. The Canadian manufacturer has given its engineering teams freedom to explore a wide range of technologies in its quest to drive carbon out of air transport. Under a project called EcoJet, they are looking at new features such as a blended wing design that they hope could pave the way to an eventual net zero carbon industry. FutureFlight spoke with Bombardier’s head of aircraft design and development to find out how the company intends to make progress.

Archer is one of half a dozen or so start-ups leading the pack in seeking to bring its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft into commercial service by 2025. The program is well funded by capital raised through a merger with special purpose acquisition group Atlas Crest Investment and a subsequent $847 million equity flotation on the New York Stock Exchange that was completed in September 2021.