The provisional orders for up to 1,000 of Vertical Aerospace's VA-X4 eVTOL aircraft represent the largest sales commitments so far in the advanced air mobility sector. The UK company's merger with Broadstone is expected to generate $394 million and value the start-up at up to $2.2 billion.

XTI Aircraft says it has sales commitments for 202 of the TriFan 600 fixed-wing aircraft, which will carry up to nine passengers on flights of 750 miles or more. It has signed a 50:50 joint venture agreement with Xeriant Aerospace, a holding company that already owns small eVTOL developer Halo Aircraft.

Archer's engineering team will use the Maker to complete development work on a planned four-passenger eVTOL aircraft that it plans to employ for urban air taxi services starting in 2024. It unveiled the technology demonstrator during an event at Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles, presenting extended-reality simulations of how the all-electric aircraft will operate in cities.

Through a partnership between the New Zealand government and the Maori communities of Te Taumutu and Wairewa, almost 2,500 acres of land are available for aerospace development work on the Kaitorete Spit. The site, which is an area of ecological importance with protected conservation status, is close to the city of Christchurch on New Zealand's south island. Among aerospace firms being encouraged to consider using the site are eVTOL aircraft developers and space enterprises.

By merging with a special purpose acquisition company called Zanite, Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions could raise fresh capital to support efforts to bring a four-passenger eVTOL aircraft into service in 2026. Nasdaq-listed Zanite was launched by business aviation entrepreneur Kenn Ricci, whose OneSky Flight venture recently committed to ordering up to 200 of the all-electric Eve aircraft.

Electric Power Systems has developed the Epic Energy, Power, and Ultra battery modules to fit a variety of eVTOL and fixed-wing aircraft applications. The batteries offer thermal runaway safety protection, as well as improved discharge and charging rates. Initial customers are expected to take delivery of early units before the end of 2021, with the batteries expected to be approved under technical standard orders in 2022.

EHang's EH216 eVTOL aircraft, plus some of its Falcon B drones, are being used for missions such as aerial logistics, emergency transportation, inspections, broadcasting, and deliveries in Covid quarantine and containment zones in China's Guangdong province. The Chinese manufacturer has deployed an operations team to support local officials from the city of Guangzhou.

There was more than a touch of Hollywood magic in Archer Aviation’s unveiling last week of its Maker eVTOL technology demonstrator. In front of what appeared to be a largely partisan audience for an expertly choreographed event at Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles, the California-based start-up removed wraps from an aircraft it says will begin hover flight trials before the end of 2021.

The live-streamed presentation also included Archer co-founders and co-CEOs Adam Goldstein and Brett Adcock spelling out their vision for how they expect eVTOL aircraft to radically reshape transportation in gridlocked metropolitan areas. The vision was lunch in Santa Monica in between business commitments downtown or a quick hop from Fort Lauderdale to enjoy Miami nightlife.

Given how tight-lipped and controlling of the information flow some eVTOL start-ups can be, critics tend to watch limited-access vantage points like the Hawthorne event as closely as Cold War analysts kept their gaze on the Kremlin’s curtains. Some critics, not unreasonably given past deployment of smoke and mirrors at aerospace rollouts, questioned whether the aircraft revealed on June 10 is an actual flyable prototype or a more static mock-up.

Archer is adamant this is the real deal and that it is well on its way to taking to the air for the first time. The two-seat Maker will pave the way for a four-passenger production aircraft that the company expects to start building in 2022, en route to projected service entry in 2024. The presentation included some bold predictions, such as a 10-minute battery recharge time, allowing the eVTOL aircraft to complete 40 or so taxi rides each day.

The Archer team made good use of extended-reality technology to present an impressive simulation of how the aircraft will perform in commercial flight. FutureFlight has watched the video playback several times and there is plenty of important detail from the Archer narrative. It’s 30 minutes well spent. Watch it for yourself and make up your own mind.

Since April 2019, there has been little public evidence of progress in the development of an "Optionally Piloted Personal Air Vehicle" from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. However, South Korea has made it clear that it views eVTOL aircraft as a significant part of its future transportation plans.