Volocopter does first flight test at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City

Volocopter has completed its first flight test at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City with its crewed Volocopter 2X. 

With the iconic Lower Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge in the background, the Volocopter 2X electric air taxi flew in a smooth and quiet manner. Volocopter's multicopter design is particularly suited for urban missions, producing zero emissions in flight and little noise pollution in a busy metropolis like NYC.

As part of the public showcase, the City of New York outlined a new vision for the future of the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, seeking to reduce emissions, noise pollution, and improve the residents' quality of life. It aims to reshape heliports such as DMH to accommodate eVTOL aircraft to diversify the city's mobility options to reduce congestion, while still meeting the transport needs of one of the busiest cities in the world.

"The Adams Administration has been a leader in driving technology innovation and economic growth while simultaneously improving quality of life," said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President & CEO Andrew Kimball. "EDC's new strategy for the Downtown Manhattan Heliport reflects these priorities while making it an industry leader in the embrace of eVTOLS – a quieter and greener helicopter alternative – while at the same time facilitating maritime freight with last mile e-bike deliveries that takes trucks off the roads."

Volocopter completes first flight in New York City

Volocopter has completed its first flight test at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City with its crewed Volocopter 2X. 

With the iconic Lower Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge in the background, the Volocopter 2X electric air taxi flew in a smooth and quiet manner. Volocopter's multicopter design is particularly suited for urban missions, producing zero emissions in flight and little noise pollution in a busy metropolis like NYC.

As part of the public showcase, the City of New York outlined a new vision for the future of the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, seeking to reduce emissions, noise pollution, and improve the residents' quality of life. It aims to reshape heliports such as DMH to accommodate eVTOL aircraft to diversify the city's mobility options to reduce congestion, while still meeting the transport needs of one of the busiest cities in the world.

"The Adams Administration has been a leader in driving technology innovation and economic growth while simultaneously improving quality of life," said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President & CEO Andrew Kimball. "EDC's new strategy for the Downtown Manhattan Heliport reflects these priorities while making it an industry leader in the embrace of eVTOLS – a quieter and greener helicopter alternative – while at the same time facilitating maritime freight with last mile e-bike deliveries that takes trucks off the roads."

Joby flies quiet electric air taxi in New York City

Joby Aviation confirmed this week it successfully performed an exhibition flight in New York City yesterday, marking the first-ever electric air taxi flight in the city and the first time Joby has flown in an urban setting.

The aircraft was flown on Sunday, November 12th, from the iconic Downtown Heliport in Manhattan, NY, where today, New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, announced the city’s intention to electrify the heliport, laying the groundwork for New York to become the global leader in the adoption of clean, quiet flight. Joby’s Manhattan flight and participation in the press conference – during which the aircraft is expected to fly again – follows several days of preparation flights at the HHI Heliport in Kearny, New Jersey.

“By electrifying one of the most famous heliports in the world, New York is demonstrating global leadership in the adoption of electric air travel. We’re grateful for the support of the city, and we’re honoured to be working with visionary partners like Delta Air Lines to bring our air taxi service to this market,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation. “We plan to make quiet, emissions-free flight an affordable, everyday reality for New Yorkers, while significantly reducing the impact of helicopter noise.”

Joby previously announced through its partnership with Delta Air Lines that it expects New York to be one of its early launch markets after receiving certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The company plans to offer fast, quiet journeys using its piloted, four-passenger electric aircraft which has zero operating emissions. Joby’s aircraft is optimized for rapid, back-to-back flights and can fly up to 100 miles on a single charge, covering 99% of all trips taken today across New York City’s five boroughs. While travelling from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) can take more than an hour by car, Joby expects the trip to take just seven minutes by air.

Dubai based EANAN leads evolution in advanced air mobility with the launch of unmanned aircraft fleet.

EANAN, a UAE technology company is leading the next evolutionary step in transportation through advanced air mobility (AAM) with the launch of Dubai's first unmanned aircraft, aiming to become the first commercially operating air mobility company in Dubai.

Engineered and produced in Dubai, EANAN's fleet of zero-emission heavy cargo and vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft are designed to transport people and cargo safely, efficiently, and securely across any environment, location, and for every type of need.

EANAN brings together an ecosystem of Emirati and international experts, to deliver autonomous multi-copter and flying wing aircraft from its production facility in the Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH), Dubai South, designed and engineered to exceed the rigorous demands and regulatory requirements of the aviation industry.

Midnight takes flight......... The future of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft just got a major step closer.....

Archer Aviation, a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, announced this week that its flight test program hit another key milestone as the company’s Midnight aircraft took flight. This milestone builds on Archer’s four years of flight testing, including two years of full-scale flight testing with Maker.

“This next phase of Archer’s flight test program is only possible because of the four years of flight testing we’ve done. Midnight is building on the successes of its predecessor aircraft and represents another significant step forward in Archer’s path to commercialization,” said Archer’s founder and CEO Adam Goldstein. “The next year and a half will be focused on continuing to rapidly advance our flight test program and Archer’s electric air taxi operations as we prepare to bring Midnight to market in 2025.”

“Having taken seven full-size eVTOL aircraft from design to flight test during my career in the eVTOL industry, today’s milestone with Midnight marks the most significant flight to date bringing Archer and the eVTOL industry another step closer to bringing a scalable and commercially viable aircraft to market,” said Archer COO Tom Muniz.

SkyDrive introduces production subsidiary in Suzuki’s plant in Iwata City to make up to 100 eVTOLs per year

SkyDrive, a leading Japanese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, is pleased to announce the continual progress between the Suzuki Motor Corporation (“Suzuki”) and SkyDrive strategic partnership since the collaboration agreement on the sharing of business and technology in March 2022. This was successfully followed by the basic agreement on manufacturing in June 2023.

The SkyDrive Manufacturing Plant

SkyDrive established a Production Subsidiary on September 1, 2023, for the production of its "SKYDRIVE (also known as the SD-05)”. The plant, owned by Suzuki, will be used to produce up to 100 potential eVTOLs per year and is slated to begin in the Spring of 2024.

Business Development in India

SkyDrive and Suzuki have been collaborating in areas of business and technology R&D, planning of manufacturing and mass production systems, and development of overseas markets with an initial focus on India as well.

Concerning its market development in India, SkyDrive is developing suitability use cases in India in areas where tourists visit historical buildings along rivers or by the sea. These routes are travelled by Indian religious pilgrims crossing mountains and rivers.

To address serious social mobility and health issues, such as air pollution caused by excessive CO2 and daily urban congestion emissions, SkyDrive continues to discuss with local stakeholders how to contribute to the mobility revolution. This ties in with the decade-long achievements made by Suzuki in India and works to deliver on the potential of our UAM eVTOL future.

Joby begins flight testing with pilot on board

Joby Aviation, announced this week, it has expanded its flight test program to include flying with a pilot on board the aircraft, a critical step on the company’s journey towards commercial operations.

Four members of Joby’s flight test team have now piloted flights on board the Company’s pre-production prototype aircraft, completing a series of initial tests that included free thrustborne hovers and forward transitions to semi-thrustborne flight.

The testing took place at the company’s Pilot Production Facility in Marina, CA and complements ongoing flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base announced in September, where both Joby and U.S. Air Force pilots will demonstrate the aircraft’s capabilities in realistic operating scenarios.

To date, the majority of Joby’s flight testing has been piloted remotely from a ground control station (GCS), using state-of-the-art communications technology and software. This has allowed the company to generate a vast amount of data on the performance of the aircraft across a broad range of flight conditions.

The pilot on board campaign was led by Joby Chief Test Pilot James “Buddy” Denham and was designed to gather data on the aircraft’s handling qualities and pilot control interfaces, supporting the development of the aircraft and laying the groundwork for future “for credit” testing as part of the company’s ongoing certification program with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Archer Receives First U.S. Air Force Payment

Archer Aviation Inc. a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, announced this week that the U.S. Air Force has provided the company with its first installment of nearly $1M on their recently announced contracts valued at up to $142 million. The initial payment is expected to be the first of many payments made to Archer by the U.S. Air Force and signals the ongoing advancement of the partnership from signature to execution as the AFWERX Agility Prime program works diligently with Archer to assess the transformational potential of the vertical flight market and eVTOL technologies for DoD purposes.

The initial payment is related to a contracted deliverable for a mobile flight simulator which the U.S. Air Force and Archer will use together to train pilots, assess flight controls and improve U.S. Air Force personnel’s understanding of the operational capabilities of Archer’s civilian use eVTOL aircraft platform and potential future development of aircraft for Air Force use. The simulator will also be deployed to key public and industry events to increase public awareness and engagement with eVTOL technology.

Several more of Archer’s deliverables are already underway with the U.S. Air Force as part of the contracts, which include the sharing of wind tunnel testing reports, project specific certification plans (PSCP’s) and Subject Specific Certification Plans (SSCP’s).

“Archer’s eVTOL technology can help maintain the United States’ position as a global leader in aviation. To see our historic contract with the U.S. Air Force move from signature to execution at a rapid pace is a reflection of the strong commitment that the U.S. Department of Defense has made to securing our country's future by investing in transformational technology,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s CEO and founder.

With its vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, target payload of approximately 1,000lbs, proprietary electric powertrain system, and low noise profile, Archer’s Midnight aircraft represents a potential paradigm shift in military aviation and operations. These aircraft hold the promise of enhancing rapid response, agility, and operational effectiveness across a wide range of mission profiles, from personnel transport and logistics support to rescue operations and more. Archer’s Midnight aircraft are expected to provide a much safer and quieter alternative to helicopters while being more cost-effective for the U.S. military to transport, operate and maintain in the field.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

Joby delivers the first eVTOL aircraft to Edwards Air Force Base ahead of schedule

Joby Aviation, a company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial passenger service, this week announced it has delivered its first aircraft to Edwards Air Force Base approximately six months ahead of the expected 2024 delivery date. On-base operations with Joby aircraft will be used to demonstrate a range of logistics missions, including cargo and passenger transportation, and will be operated by both Joby and U.S. Air Force personnel. In partnership with the U.S. Air Force, NASA will also use the aircraft for research focused on how these aircraft could fit into the national airspace, benefiting the entire air taxi industry.

Joby Aircraft Becomes First Electric Air Taxi Delivered to the U.S. Air Force

Believed to be the First Electric Air Taxi Delivered in the U.S.

Aircraft will be Used to Demonstrate Logistics Missions on Base, Flown by U.S. Air Force Pilots

Delivery is Part of Joby’s $131 Million Contract with the DOD

Joby’s aircraft, which has already begun flying at Edwards AFB, is the first electric air taxi to be stationed on a U.S. military base and is believed to be the first delivery of an electric air taxi in the U.S., as part of Joby’s $131 million AFWERX Agility Prime contract with the U.S. Air Force. Joby’s current and previously completed work with the Department of Defense represents a total potential contract value of $163 million, the largest in the industry.

The Agility Prime contract includes the provisioning of up to nine aircraft to the U.S. Air Force and other federal agencies, reinforcing the U.S. government’s continued leadership in developing and adopting eVTOL technology, and ushering in a new era of electric aviation. A second aircraft is planned to be delivered to Edwards in early 2024.

The aircraft, which was the first built on Joby’s Pilot Production Line in Marina, CA, will be stationed at Edwards Air Force Base for at least the next year, with charging and ground support equipment provided on-base by Joby in a facility purpose-built by the Air Force for joint flight test operations. The U.S. Air Force and Joby will conduct joint flight testing and operations to demonstrate the aircraft’s capabilities in realistic mission settings. On-base operations will also include the training of Air Force pilots and aircraft maintenance crews, which will provide the DOD with valuable insight into the performance of eVTOL aircraft and will give Joby on-the-ground operational and training experience as the company prepares for the launch of commercial passenger service in 2025.

SkyDrive Receives Pre-Order of up to 50 eVTOL Aircraft from an Aircraft Leasing Company Solyu in Korea

SkyDrive Inc, a leading eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, and Solyu Company, Ltd, an aircraft leasing company specializing in zero-emission in Korea, announced that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Solyu has agreed to pre-order of up to 50 SkyDrive eVTOL aircraft “SKYDRIVE”.

SkyDrive is currently developing a three-seater electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft called “SKYDRIVE.” Its eVTOL is in the process of acquiring its Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) certification.

Solyu is a lessor based in Korea run by team with decades of experience in the aircraft leasing and finance industry with a focus on providing customers with zero emissions vehicles such as eVTOL, eCTOL and eSTOL.

In Korea, the metropolitan area faces a problem of severe traffic congestion, and the Korean government formed the Korea Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) Roadmap, expecting that the time and social costs can be reduced by 70%. The government also promotes the plan for public-private joint demonstration project, the K-UAM Grand Challenge. 

Archer Aviation makes major announcements .....

Archer Aviation one of the key leaders in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has this week announced its operating and financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023. The company also made a number of other announcements this week, including notification that the firm has settled a legal battle between it, Wisk Aero and The Boeing Company, which paves the way for joint collaboration and financial security.  A major investment and Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration has been granted.

Archer has landed a $215 million equity investment from industry leaders Stellantis, Boeing and United Airlines, as well as other financial institutions, including ARK Invest, increasing the company’s total funding to over $1.1 billion to date, received FAA approval to begin flying its Midnight eVTOL aircraft, and reached an agreement with Boeing and Wisk to enter into an autonomous flight collaboration and settle litigation between the companies. Additionally, Archer announced that it is on track to complete what it believes will be the first-ever eVTOL aircraft delivery to a customer as part of its recently announced contracts with the Department of Defense (DoD). These announcements come on the heels of the FAA Administrator leaving to join Archer and the DoD awarding Archer the largest total contract value of any eVTOL company.

“Over the last quarter, we’ve seen the U.S. government make an unwavering commitment that America will lead the way in commercializing eVTOL aircraft, the FAA validated the timeline for eVTOL aircraft to begin operations in the U.S. in 2025, and leaders in the mobility industry, Stellantis, United Airlines and Boeing, have come together to invest in Archer’s future,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO. “The pace at which our industry is advancing is unprecedented. Our team’s hard work and dedication have brought us to this exciting moment, and we can't wait to see Midnight soar,” added Goldstein.

Archer Aviation Secures $215M Investment

Led by Stellantis, Archer’s long-term strategic partner, Archer today announced it has further strengthened its liquidity position with a $215 million equity investment round. This investment round includes an acceleration of $70 million from Stellantis under the strategic funding agreement entered into in January 2023, with $55 million remaining available under that facility. The commitment from Stellantis has been unrivalled, from its foresight to provide the manufacturing expertise and capital needed to accelerate Archer’s business objectives, to the strategic vision and steadfast support from CEO Carlos Tavares and Chief Engineering and Technology Officer Ned Curic.

The roster of investors from this latest funding round also includes United Airlines and industry giant Boeing, as well as other financial institutions, including ARK Invest. The funds from this round are intended to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, including Archer’s continued development of its aircraft and related technology, as well as the build out of its manufacturing and test facilities.

Boeing, Archer, and Wisk Reach Agreement to Enter into Autonomous Flight Collaboration and Settle Litigation

Archer and Wisk, leaders in the advanced air mobility industry, along with The Boeing Company, announced a collaboration that looks forward to the growth and development of the AAM industry. Simultaneously, the parties reached a settlement to resolve the federal and state court litigation between them. This collaboration puts Archer in a unique position -- to be able to source autonomy technology from a leader in the industry. Over the long term, autonomy is seen as one of the keys to achieving scale across all AAM applications, from passenger to cargo and beyond.

This strategic relationship will leverage each company’s respective strengths and competencies with the goal of accelerating the commercialization of autonomous flight. This approach is a natural extension of Archer’s overall strategy of focusing its in-house research and development on the key enabling technologies that cannot be sourced from the existing aerospace supply base, thereby helping Archer potentially avoid hundreds of millions of dollars of spending.

FAA Issues Midnight Aircraft Certificate to Begin Flying

Archer today announced that its Midnight aircraft received its Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This certification signals that Archer’s Midnight aircraft has successfully met all FAA safety requirements allowing it to begin flight test operations, which Archer expects to commence in the coming weeks.

Archer continues to make strong progress on Midnight’s certification program with the FAA in support of the company’s planned entry into service in 2025. This is an important step as Archer readies to begin its piloted "for credit" testing of its Midnight aircraft with the FAA in early 2024 and bring online the world’s first high-volume eVTOL production facility in Covington, Georgia in mid-2024 alongside Stellantis.

As part of Archer’s recently announced landmark agreements with the Department of Defense valued at up to $142 million, Archer announced today that it is on track to deliver the Midnight aircraft to the U.S. Air Force later this year or early next year. Archer believes this would make Midnight the first-ever eVTOL aircraft delivered to a customer.

Elroy Air Expands Executive Leadership

Elroy Air Expands Executive Leadership

The company attracts top industry executives as it reaches $3B in commitments for its autonomous eVTOL cargo aircraft systems

Elroy Air, the company developing the first end-to-end autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial cargo system, has announced that it has expanded its executive leadership to include Alex Blake as Chief of Staff and Zach Lovering as Vice President of Engineering.

lex Blake, uncrewed aerospace executive from Wing (formerly Google X), Amazon Prime Air, and Kittyhawk joins Elroy Air as Chief of Staff

“Alex’s many years of experience in moving new aerospace concepts from idea to proof-of-concept to operational reality brings an incredible set of strengths to our organization. We are extremely excited to have Alex join our leadership team!” said co-founder Clint Cope.

Most recently, Blake served as VP of Engineering at Kittyhawk where she played a central role in driving the development of a groundbreaking electric autonomous air taxi, backed by Google/Alphabet founder Larry Page. She was a member of the team at Google X that developed drone delivery and UTM systems, eventually splitting off as Wing, a subsidiary of Alphabet with operations on 3 continents. At Wing, Alex led aerodynamics, propulsion, reliability, and flight test, aiding in the 1st FAA operational approval for a commercial drone service in the US. She also served as a launch lead for Amazon Prime Air’s next generation drone delivery system, quality manager for Google’s high altitude solar drone Titan, manufacturing engineer for Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser space flight vehicle, and materials development engineer at Raytheon.

Joby completes submission of stage three certification plans to the FAA

Joby Aviation, a company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial passenger service, this week announced it has submitted all of its Certification Plans to the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”), marking further progress toward completing the third of five stages required to certify its aircraft for commercial use.

In the third stage of the FAA type certification process (“Certification Plans”), Joby specifies the tests, analyses, and design reports the Company intends to perform to demonstrate compliance with each safety regulation that applies to the Company’s aircraft, as defined in the second stage (“Means of Compliance”).

In February, Joby became the first eVTOL company to complete the second stage of the certification process, after becoming the first to complete stage one and have its Certification Basis published in the Federal Register.

“Joby continues to lead the way on certifying eVTOL aircraft with the FAA, and today’s news is another step towards launching commercial service in 2025,” said Didier Papadopoulos, Head of Aircraft OEM at Joby. “We’re grateful for the FAA’s continued commitment to safely introducing next-generation aircraft into service.”

Archer hosts U.S. President Biden’s Federal AAM Interagency Working Group

Over 70 representatives from the DOT, White House, FAA, NASA, FCC, DOD, DHS, NTIA and other agencies attended the event.

Archer Aviation proudly hosted the Federal AAM Interagency Working Group at its flight test facility recently. The delegation of federal stakeholders featured more than 70 representatives from the DOT, White House, FAA, NASA, FCC, DOD, NTIA, and other agencies who met with over 20 Archer executives. As part of the visit, the attendees witnessed a live flight test, viewed Archer’s Midnight aircraft and learned more about Archer’s approach to aircraft design, safety and certification.

Archer showcased its fleet of eVTOL aircraft to AAM working group, including a test flight demonstrating safe, low noise operations.

The Biden Administration formed the Federal AAM Interagency Working Group to meet the requirements of the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law in October 2022. The working group supports the goal of achieving safe integration of Advanced Air Mobility into the national airspace and ensuring that the U.S. maintains its global leadership position in the aerospace industry. This is being done in order to grow new transportation options, amplify economic activity and jobs, advance environmental sustainability and new technologies, and support emergency preparedness and competitiveness.

Safran and Archer collaboration produces avionics technology for Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft

Safran Electronics & Defense and Archer Aviation Inc. shared details of their ongoing collaboration on cutting-edge avionics technology, which kicked off back in 2021. This collaboration is focused on delivering groundbreaking solutions to Archer that utilizes Safran Electronics & Defense’s industry-leading components that have a proven track record of safety and performance. The two companies have initially focused their development and testing on Safran Electronics & Defense’s ultra-compact avionics platform (UCAP) flight control computer (FCC) and SkyNaute navigation system, which are both used in Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft.

Archer’s use of Safran Electronics & Defense’s UCAP FCC and SkyNaute navigation system is a key element of its goal of achieving the most efficient path to certification. For Midnight, Archer is focused on sourcing leading technology from world-class aerospace suppliers with certification expertise. Safran Electronics & Defense is a global leader in safety-critical software and hardware for the aviation industry.

Equipped with a powerful multi-core processor, Safran Electronics & Defense’s UCAP provides high-performance computing capabilities, as well as high-integrity and safety features. SkyNaute adheres to the safety and reliability requirements necessary for certification by relying on mature and proven technologies such as HRG Crystal (Hemispherical Resonator Gyroscopes). This innovative navigation system achieves high performance and integrity while providing a 35% reduction in size and weight when compared to alternatives.

SKF announces electric aviation agreement with Lilium

SKF leads the way in bearing provision for the electric aircraft market

SKF confirmed this week that a supplier agreement has been signed with Lilium, developer of the first all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet. SKF has supported Lilium on the design of electric motor bearings for the Lilium Jet's electric engine and has agreed to support the program by producing electric motor bearings for the type-conforming aircraft.

The emerging electric aircraft market has great potential to change the way we look at aviation and logistics, allowing for a more sustainable way of transporting people and goods. Market research shows that by 2030, the eVTOL market could potentially be worth up to 30 billion dollars.*

Greg Zimmerman, Director Aerospace Business Unit at SKF, says: "With electrification, the aerospace industry will experience a transformation in the coming years. We are pleased to be a part of this development by being the preferred bearing supplier on the electric motor bearings of the Lilium Jet. It supports our strategic focus on sustainability and our commitment towards the achievement of the goals set out in the Paris Climate agreement. We are the first bearing supplier to have a dedicated product portfolio, team and partnership experience in this exciting electric aviation segment." 

Supernal Partners with UMBRAGROUP on New Light-weight Actuation Technology for eVTOL Vehicles

Supernal Partners with UMBRAGROUP on New Light-weight Actuation Technology for eVTOL Vehicles

 

 

Supernal LLC and UMBRAGROUP announced this week at the Paris Air Show a continued partnership to leverage innovative technology that will enhance flight control operations in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. UMBRAGROUP will supply actuators and motor control electronics needed to deploy a safe system architecture for Supernal's future vehicles, which the Company plans to launch for commercial flights in 2028.

The collaboration aims to create new actuation standards, both for rotary and linear applications, that will deliver for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) manufacturers, which are concerned about size, weight, power, reliability—and, most importantly, safety. Traditional rotary actuators use a gearbox connected to a power source that then operates an aircraft's flight control surface. UMBRAGROUP's new line of actuators eliminates the use of the gearbox, making its product smaller, lighter and more efficient. Based on ball screws, this assembly can last beyond 20 years in commercial aircraft and is ideally suited for the AAM market where vehicles are often characterized by thin wings and limited component space.

"Supernal's approach is to drive innovation—not only at the aircraft level, but also at the system level," said Adam Slepian, chief commercial officer, Supernal. "UMBRAGROUP's actuation solutions will help us optimize our eVTOL vehicle design for maximum reliability in daily operations and enable Advanced Air Mobility to reach the same levels of safety as the commercial aviation industry."

SkyDrive reaches agreement with Suzuki to build eVTOL aircraft

SkyDrive, a leading Japanese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer announced at The Paris Air Show 2023, it had signed a basic agreement deal with Suzuki Motor Corporation for cooperation in manufacturing the SKYDRIVE eVTOL aircraft. 

SkyDrive will establish a wholly owned subsidiary (hereinafter "the manufacturing subsidiary") for the purpose of manufacturing its eVTOL aircraft "SKYDRIVE." With Suzuki, the manufacturing subsidiary will utilize a production facility owned by the Suzuki Group in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and aims to start building the SkyDrive "SKYDRIVE" eVTOL aircraft by spring of 2024. Suzuki will also cooperate with the manufacturing subsidiary in securing human resources and making other preparations for the start of manufacturing. More specific terms and conditions will be agreed upon through ongoing discussions.

The "SKYDRIVE" eVTOL aircraft, to be built at Suzuki's production facility, is a three-seat, electric-powered lightweight aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities.

Comment by Toshihiro Suzuki, Suzuki Motor Corporation President "We are excited to cooperate with SkyDrive as we ambitiously work towards creating valuable products that contribute to the realization of a world where people use the sky for their daily transportation."

Comment by Tomohiro Fukuzawa, SkyDrive Inc. CEO "At Suzuki, all manufacturing activities are based on a concept, 'Smaller, Fewer, Lighter, Shorter, and Neater,' and SkyDrive is developing lightweight air mobilities. Suzuki and SkyDrive have been collaborating since March 2022 and we are very excited that SkyDrive will utilize the production facility of Suzuki to build our eVTOL 'SKYDRIVE.' In our pursuit to consistently manufacture safe and high-quality aircraft for the world, we are grateful for the valuable know-how we will learn from Suzuki, a global leader in automobile mass production. Suzuki and SkyDrive will work closely towards the shared goal."

SkyDrive was formally established in July 2018 after testing flying car concepts and prototypes from 2014 with the mission of "taking the lead in the once-in-a-century mobility revolution." Its vision is to create a future where everyone has access to eVTOLs as their daily transportation in Japan and across the world. 

Vertical Aerospace expands presence in Asia-Pacific

Kakao Mobility pre-orders up to 50 VX4 aircraft, adding South Korea to Vertical’s customer launch list market

Kakao Mobility has over 30 million registered users for its existing Mobility-as-a-Service ride-hailing and will bring this expertise to create a seamless air-to-ground passenger journey

Builds on Vertical’s existing consortium partnership for the Korean government-backed K-UAM Grand Challenge

Vertical Aerospace a global aerospace and technology company that is pioneering zero-emissions aviation, today announces that South Korean mobility technology company, Kakao Mobility, has pre-ordered up to 50 of Vertical’s VX4 aircraft, adding South Korea to Vertical’s list of customer launch markets.

Kakao Mobility, the largest Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform in South Korea with more than 30 million registered users, is the mobility subsidiary of South Korean internet giant, Kakao Corporation. Kakao Mobility runs the country’s most popular taxi-hailing app, Kakao T, providing taxi-hailing, designated driver booking, parking space search, and Kakao Navi app providing real-time traffic information services.

Vertical and Kakao Mobility will establish a Joint Working Group (JWG) to drive the commercialisation of AAM services in South Korea, including the exploration of network and fleet planning, infrastructure requirements, regulatory development, and consumer awareness of eVTOL mobility solutions.

South Korea is one of the largest economies in the world and is home to globally leading technology companies. Seoul, as well as other regions including Busan, is expected to have a significant Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market potential.

Archer gets ready for flight test by rolling out first Midnight aircraft

One of the leading electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developers, Archer Aviation has confirmed the final assembly of its first Midnight aircraft has been completed.

Last week the aircraft was shipped from Archer’s Palo Alto facility to its flight test facility in Salinas, California and reassembled. Archer will now take this aircraft through a series of ground tests leading up to its planned first flight this summer. The Midnight aircraft has recently garnered significant attention from the U.S. Department of Defense given its payload capabilities.

This Midnight aircraft will enable Archer to perform critical “company testing” to accelerate and reduce risk on its certification program with the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) in advance of “for credit” certification testing that the company plans to begin early next year with piloted Midnight aircraft.

This aircraft will now fly to many of the same test points that will be needed during piloted “for credit” flight testing in order to further validate the aircraft before the FAA witnesses and participates in the testing. Component manufacturing is already underway for Archer’s conforming Midnight aircraft. Archer is targeting the completion of the final assembly of its initial conforming Midnight aircraft in Q4 2023 and to begin piloted flight test operations in early 2024.

“Today we announced our exciting progress that the final assembly of our first Midnight aircraft is now complete and it is preparing for its flight test program,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO. “This aircraft will accelerate and reduce risk on our certification program paving the way for our team to focus on building and conducting piloted operations with conforming aircraft to support the goal of entering into service in 2025.”

Archer’s industry-leading team, alongside its key strategic partners, Stellantis and United Airlines, continues to advance its aircraft development and commercial operations with impressive speed and efficiency.

With a range of up to 100 miles, Archer’s Midnight aircraft is designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time in between. Archer’s goal is to transform inter-city travel, replacing 60-90 minute commutes by car that can take over an hour in traffic with ~10-20 minute electric air taxi flights that are safe, sustainable, low noise and cost competitive with ground transportation.