South Korean leasing company Solyu has signed a letter of intent with Eviation covering 25 Alice all-electric commuter aircraft. The LOI, which also calls for an option on another 25 aircraft, marks the first such “order” for the nine-seat Alice since Eviation outsourced its design work to Seattle-based engineering firm TLG Aerospace.

Vertical Aerospace has provided details of an initial report into the August 9 crash in which its first eVTOL prototype aircraft was badly damaged. The company is awaiting the completion of an investigation by the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch and is continuing to build two more prototypes, with the first expected to resume the flight testing process in early 2024. It says the certification timeline will not be further delayed.

Since launching its plans for the Noemi electric seaplane in June 2023, Elfly Group says, it has raised $10 million in soft funding, which has been matched by early investors. The start-up is in the process of selecting an electric motor supplier for the amphibious aircraft, which would carry up to 13 passengers or freight on flights of up to around 125 miles, operating from fjords, lakes, or seas.

Kookiejar CEO Michael Pettersson sees the progressive approach being taken by regulators in the Gulf States leading to locations like Dubai and Abu Dhabi being among the early advanced air mobility use cases. However, the Swedish start-up is also developing the basis for providing infrastructure for eVTOL vehicles and drones through exercises spanning the Stockholm suburbs and the billionaires' playground in Monaco.

A group of leading companies in the UK aviation and renewable energy sectors has established the Hydrogen in Aviation (HIA) alliance to accelerate the delivery of zero-carbon aviation, the companies said Tuesday. HIA, whose partners also include Airbus, Rolls-Royce, EasyJet, Ørsted, GKN Aerospace, and Bristol Airport, said decarbonization efforts involving the direct use of hydrogen should assume more urgency at a time when sustainable aviation fuel and batteries have drawn so much of the sector’s attention.

The 2023 Airtaxi World Congress is coming to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in October, drawing hundreds of attendees from more than 70 countries to discuss the nascent urban air mobility industry as several eVTOL air taxi developers are preparing to certify their aircraft in the next 18 months. 

Bristow secures the first deliveries of Elroy Air's Chaparral hybrid-electric VTOL freighter. Plus, Air Nostrum doubles down on its order of hybrid-electric airships; Chinese officials prepare for EHang's entry into service; ParaZero introduces an AI-based avionics system for uncrewed aircraft; and Anra Technologies launches UAS fleet management software.

Boom Supersonic has begun taxi testing with its XB-1 “Baby Boom” aircraft, a one-third-scale supersonic flight demonstrator that the company designed for the development of its Boom Overture supersonic airliner. The company says it recently received an experimental airworthiness certificate from the FAA. The Baby Boom was designed, built, and tested at Boom’s hangar in Centennial, Colorado, before moving to the Mojave Air & Space Port in California to prepare for its first flights. During the initial taxi tests, the aircraft reached a speed of 60 knots, according to Boom.