News and analysis covering cutting-edge aviation technology and business models, including zero-carbon propulsion, eVTOL aircraft, automation and autonomy, and new infrastructure.
The FAA has accepted Reliable Robotics' certification basis for the advanced navigation and autoflight system, which should receive supplemental type certification next year.
The start-up believes it can deliver a quantum leap in performance with technology using a small flow of compressed air from a turbo-compressor to suck in a much greater volume of ambient air, creating a vortex that significantly amplifies the airflow.
The TriFan 600 is now expected to take until 2027 to enter commercial service, carrying between four and six passengers in various business and airline applications.
The company has acquired three cargo delivery operators as it seeks to demonstrate that its technology can support flights without a pilot on board that could make services far more cost-efficient.
New customers for the two-passenger, autonomous eVTOL aircraft include China's Tianxingjian Cultural Tourism Investment and Development and Prestige Aviation in Indonesia.
The UK's Connected Places Catapult is looking to involve up to 12 small- and medium-sized enterprises in the 2022 Future of Air Mobility Accelerator program, whose backers include Supernal, GKN, Heathrow Airport, and the UK CAA.
The planned Overture supersonic airliner is expected to carry between 65 and 85 passengers on flights of up to 4,250 nm and at speeds of up to Mach 1.7.
After multiple program delays and a substantial redesign, Eviation says its all-electric Alice aircraft will make its long-awaited first flight this summer. It was named for Lewis Carroll's Victorian novel Alice in Wonderland.
Archer says its Midnight eVTOL air taxi is now expected to enter service by 2025, company officials told investors during a quarterly earnings call on Thursday (August 11).
United Airlines has reinforced its commitment to purchasing eVTOL air taxis from Archer Aviation with a $10 million down payment on 100 units of the initial production version of the aircraft.
Helicopter operator Bristow is continuing to expand into the advanced air mobility market with new plans to order as many as 55 Alia 250 eVTOL aircraft from Beta Technologies.