Joby has announced that it has completed the second of five stages in the FAA type certification process by completing its means of compliance, a document that outlines all the ways in which the company plans to comply with the safety rules that were defined in its certification basis.

From 2030, Air New Zealand wants to start replacing its De Havilland Dash 8-300 twin turboprop regional aircraft with zero-emissions equipment. Through its Mission Next Generation Aircraft program, it is now making preparations and considering options with aircraft manufacturers Embraer, Heart Aerospace, ATR, and Airbus, as well as with Universal Hydrogen, which is working to convert Dash 8s and ATR twin turboprops to zero emissions propulsion systems.

The FAA has granted Universal Hydrogen an experimental airworthiness certificate, giving the California-based company the green light to proceed with the first test flight of its hydrogen-powered De Havilland Dash 8-300 twin-engined technology demonstrator aircraft.

Energy group Shell and Rotterdam The Hague Airport in the Netherlands are working with ZeroAvia to prepare safety standards and protocols for refueling hydrogen-powered aircraft. ZeroAvia, which recently conducted a first test flight with a Dornier 228 technology demonstrator, intends to convert existing regional airliners to hydrogen propulsion using its fuel cell technology.

ARC Aero Systems' design for the Linx P9 hybrid-electric aircraft features a main rotor that uses minimal electrical power for jump takeoffs and a fixed wing with a pair of pusher propellers to support longer-range subregional flights. The UK company is conducting a Series A funding round to support plans that also include a pair of uncrewed cargo vehicles, the C-600 and C-150, that are based on its earlier Starling eVTOL and eSTOL designs.

Ryse Aero Technologies is getting ready to begin deliveries of its Recon personal eVTOL in the third quarter of 2023 after securing nearly 100 preorders in the last month. While most of those orders come from customers interested in employing the single-seat Recon for agricultural purposes, such as farming and ranching, others plan to use the vehicle for recreation. The company intends to build the first 100 Recons at its Cincinnati headquarters at a rate of about 10 aircraft per month, but it is looking to open a larger facility in late 2023 that will eventually be able to produce up to 3,000 units per year.

The Air One and XP4 eVTOL aircraft are being marketed to yacht owners through new partnerships with, respectively, the International Seakeepers Society and solar catamaran builder Silent-Yachts. The companies behind the two vehicles say they will be certified for use in 2024.

Once upon a time, in the crucible of technology that was the 1960s, Boeing's 747 widebody airliner was the future of air transport. Fast forward to 2023, and the world's first jumbo jet is taking its place in aviation's hall of fame, with Boeing recently having made the final delivery (number 1,574). FutureFlight sister publication AIN asked seasoned author and journalist Andreas Spaeth to explain why “the Queen of the Skies” is so iconic, how it came to be, and why it changed the airline industry forever. He told us what sets the 747 apart from other groundbreaking aircraft like the supersonic Concorde and more pragmatic offerings since then, such as the 787 Dreamliner and the A350.

Aura Aero is a French start-up developing a hybrid-electric airliner called the Electric Regional Aircraft that it aims to get into commercial service in 2027. The fixed-wing model would carry up to 19 passengers or 1,900 kilograms of freight, with a full-scale prototype expected to start flight testing in 2024.