The advanced air mobility (AAM) infrastructure unit of UK-based drone services specialist Skyports has been chosen for the second phase of a concept of operations (ConOps) project by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), to prepare for the arrival of air taxi operation in the country.
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In a direct rebuff of this week’s announcement by electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) plane rivals Archer and BETA Technologies on co-developing an open-use aircraft recharging system, air taxi company Joby not only insisted it’s sticking with its own battery-juicing tech, but urged the entire sector to adopt it as the industry standard to boot.
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Air taxi developer Joby has offered a few reminders of why it has gained the reputation for being among (if not the) leading advanced air mobility (AAM) companies with an update to investors revealing it had completed 84% of its Stage Three certification work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
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In a move reflecting the national interests in the race between next-generation aviation companies to bring advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles to market, Japan’s SkyDrive has received 12.4 billion yen ($82.7 million) from the government to support the development of the startup’s electric vertical takeoff and landing craft (eVTOL).
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With the anticipated start of air taxi services in the US set for 2025, it’s not exactly premature for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to have issued its first approval of a vertiport – a conditional greenlight that nevertheless permits development and research of nearing advanced air mobility (AAM) activity.
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Adding to its collection of precedents in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft development, Joby said it has become the first manufacturer of future air taxis to deliver its craft to a US customer – in this case the Air Force.
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Japan-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) plane maker SkyDrive has gotten a bit more tailwind in the commercialization push of its three-seat “flying car” with an order of 50 craft from leasing firm Solyu of South Korea.
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The looming arrival of battery-powered air taxis may conjure futuristic, Jetson-esque images of urban aerial travel, but California aviation startup Jump Aero is eschewing the allure – and anticipated profits – of that mass market transportation potential to develop an electric takeoff and landing plane (eVTOL) designed exclusively for getting medical responders to patients in time to provide critical care.
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German air taxi developer Volocopter has inked a deal with international aviation services company Bristow Group, covering 80 of the startup’s VoloCity aircraft for services planned in both the US and UK.
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H2FLY, the German affiliate of air taxi developer Joby, has passed a major technological and aviation milestone in clear power transportation, with the successful test flights of what it hailed as the world’s first piloted electric aircraft fueled by liquid hydrogen.
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The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has presented its proposal for air taxi and other next-generation aircraft regulation in a text now awaiting approval or amendment into law by the bloc’s executive body.
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UK air taxi developer Vertical Aerospace has revealed the cause of the August 9 crash of its VX4 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype aircraft, and said it has already begun moving toward resumed test flights and planned certification in 2026.
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When it was announced a week ago within a package of headline-making developments, Archer’s agreement with air taxi rival Wisk to end their bitter legal feud was greeted as an immediate win for both startups – though some evidence now says the biggest medium- to longer-term gains stand to be made by Wisk owner and aviation mastodon, Boeing.
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Air taxi manufacturer Archer Aviation has announced a trio of developments that, even taken individually, represent huge news for the company – the biggest among them being the abrupt transformation of its bitter legal battle with sector rival Wisk into an autonomous flight tech sharing partnership.
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Nearly 48 hours after news began circulating that the prototype air taxi by UK advanced air mobility firm Vertical Aerospace suffered an accident, the company is still managing public response in the worst possible way – by acting like a slow-moving, tight-lipped, stodgy, “Mad Men” corporation rather than the creative, quick, and innovative startup it is.
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Archer, California developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has announced a contract with the US Air Force worth up to $142 million, and opening the door to deployment of its Midnight air taxi plane for operation adapted to military activities.
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Ambitious air taxi developer AutoFlight added another aerial first to its collection of exploits this week with the announcement it had staged a flight of three different prototypes of its Prosperity I electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in coordinated formation.
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The UK developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), Vertical Aerospace, says it has completed the first untethered test flight of its future battery-powered air taxi, propelling it into an elite of sector startups that have managed to both produce prototypes and get them aloft.
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German electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Lilium says it has secured over $190 million in additional financing designed to allow it to advance work on its air taxis into test flight phases.
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In an effort to fly two major event kites from the same string – and encourage comingling of aerial activities at their heart – the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) are pairing up to host twinned drone and advanced air mobility (AAM) conferences next month at the same time and venue.
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Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developers Joby and Lilium have announced completion of important steps in their respective work to obtain air taxi certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
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Joby Aviation has received authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test fly the first air taxi completed on its production line – a development expected to facilitate the advanced air mobility (AAM) company’s delivery of the craft to its US Air Force client for experimental use next year.
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German electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) manufacturer Lilium announced it has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its proposed basis of air taxi certification, making it what the company says is the first power-lift aircraft developer to obtain that all-clear by both US and European Union regulators.
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The Paris Air Show broke all records for attendance with its habitual large-draw long-haul passenger planes and military jets, but the main stars of the 2023 biannual event were arguably the next-generation electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis making their first appearance.
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