Archer has resumed test flights with its Maker subscale eVTOL technology demonstrator six months after its first takeoff. The company has started testing the tilt propeller system that adjusts the angle of the forward propellers to control the transition from hover to cruise flight. It says it remains on track to complete type certification of the full-scale, four-passenger aircraft by the end of 2024, even though the first example now won't be built until 2023.

UK companies should find it easier to achieve concurrent type certification for eVTOL aircraft now that the country's Civil Aviation Authority has adopted EASA’s Special Conditions (SC) VTOL standards. The move follows an announcement earlier this year signaling the CAA's intention to also work closely with the FAA on the U.S. agency's different approach to type certification.

Kenya Airways subsidiary Fahari Aviation is set to buy up to 40 of Eve's four-passenger eVTOL aircraft under a letter of intent signed as part of an expanded partnership agreement. The companies will develop a business model for possible passenger and cargo flights.

Cranfield Aerospace Solutions is working with Bremen-based Evia Aero to convert nine-seat Islander aircraft to hydrogen power to enable zero-emission subregional airline services. The UK company's longer-term goal is to develop its fuel-cell-based powertrain for use with larger airliners seating up to 100 passengers.

Some visitors to the Aizhai Wonder Tourist Area at Jishou in Hunan province recently were able to take demonstration flights in EHang's EH216 autonomous, two-seat eVTOL aircraft. Chinese tourism group Tianxingjian has agreed to buy five of the vehicles with options for 25 more. EHang has also been showing the EH216 at industry events in Europe.

State and city legislation in New York is set to ban many helicopter flights deemed to be "non-essential" and make it easier for civil lawsuits against rotorcraft operators to succeed. The bills appear to apply to existing rotorcraft but may raise concerns about the attitudes of local officials toward eVTOL flights.

The U.S. Air Force's Afwerx team is evaluating the potential for Transcend Air's Vy 400 tiltwing aircraft to more rapidly rescue stranded military pilots by flying undetected close to terrain and at higher speeds than current helicopters. The work will be continued under a new Phase II small business technology transfer research and development contract.

To make it easier for its ES-19 electric regional airliner to enter commercial service in the U.S., Sweden's Heart Aerospace will now seek type certification under Part 25 rules that are more closely aligned between the FAA and EASA. It has a provisional sales agreement for up to 300 of the 19-seaters with United Airlines and regional affiliate Mesa.

At recent events in Europe, such as EBACE in Geneva and the World Air Traffic Management show in Madrid, China’s EHang has given many Europeans their first close-up look at its EH216 eVTOL aircraft. FutureFlight met with the company’s chief marketing officer, Andreas Perotti, and asked him how the company believes no-pilot-on-board air taxi services could transform public transportation in crowded cities with short-hop rides.

Jaunt Air Mobility is aiming to get its family of eVTOL aircraft, featuring both a main rotor and wing-mounted propellers, certified under existing FAA Part 29 rules for helicopters by the end of 2025.