FutureFlight

Hyundai Motor Group's advanced air mobility division, Supernal, this week appointed two key suppliers for its eVTOL aircraft program. Honeywell Aerospace will provide its new Anthem integrated flight deck for the five-seat vehicle and BAE Systems is developing a fly-by-wire flight control system.

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Archer Aviation has set the date for the unveiling of its first Midnight eVTOL aircraft. The California-based company says it will reveal the initial production version of Midnight during an event at its San Jose, California headquarters on November 16. 

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Electra says it now has sales commitments for 1,000 of its eSTOL aircraft, with charter operator Welojets signing a letter of intent for 32 units during the NBAA-BACE business aviation trade show. The nine-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft is expected to be able to operate from runways as short as 300 feet and with a range of up to around 400 nm.

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Portuguese regional airline Sevenair has signed a letter of intent covering up to six Heart Aerospace electric ES-30s. With the expression of interest from Sevenair, Heart Aerospace has collected commitments for the purchase 230 ES-30s, options for 100, and LOIs for a further 99 of the regional airplanes. The extended-range version of the ES-30 could cover all of the airline’s seven routes in Portugal.

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NASA and autonomous flight pioneer Xwing have signed a Space Act Agreement to explore safety cases in support of increasingly autonomous aircraft operations in the National Airspace System.

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While working on its own four-passenger eVTOL aircraft, Eve Air Mobility wants to also position itself as a provider of technology, including urban air traffic management software. It is partnering with Skyway Technology, which is already supporting drone operations and wants to introduce navigation services for vertiports.

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California-based Sabrewing is building its first full-scale prototype of the uncrewed, hybrid-electric Rhaegal B cargo aircraft with the aim of making the first deliveries in December 2023. With the promise of low operating costs, prospective customers, including a company that flies for the United Nations World Health/World Food program, have signed up for 128 aircraft.

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On the Radar
Pentagon Seeks Information on eVTOL Aircraft Cost Benefits

As part of the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program to assess how new electric and autonomous aircraft might be deployed for military operations, the Department of Defense recently issued a request for information (RFI) about their cost and benefits. The request was issued by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the Mobility and Training Directorate’s Heavy Airlift Division, with a response deadline of November 4.

The Department of Defense stressed that the process does not constitute a request for proposals from companies. “The RFI is solely for information and planning purposes,” the document states. “This RFI is to better understand the current eVTOL cost benefit.”

The Pentagon wants to evaluate the business case for using eVTOL aircraft in comparison with aircraft currently in the U.S. military inventory. It wants to understand the costs and means of adding eVTOL capability, including purchasing and leasing aircraft or accessing them via service providers.

 
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Urban Aeronautics has been flight testing a technology demonstrator for its planned CityHawk eVTOL aircraft, which it says will be safer and more reliable because it has no external moving parts. Instead of rotors, the hydrogen-powered vehicle will have ducted fans installed in its fuselage, which the company says will make it more flexible when it comes to landing on city streets. FutureFlight spoke to the company's CEO, Nimrod Golan-Yanay, to get the latest on the program.

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Featured Program

The Nexus eVTOL has been significantly redesigned since it was introduced by Textron subsidiary Bell in January 2019. It is being developed under the group's new eAviation division.

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Featured Person
Jilinda Crowley
 

Jilinda Crowley is the chief financial officer of magniX, an Everett, Washington-based electric motor manufacturer. She joined magniX in October 2022 after working as the chief financial officer of Electra Aero. She previously spent 16 years working with Rolls-Royce, where she held several positions, including chief financial officer, senior vice president of civil aerospace programs, vice president of investor relations, and vice president of government relations. She graduated from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business in Washington, D.C., with an MBA in finance after earning a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Tufts University in Boston.

UPCOMING EVENTS
 
November 8 - 10, 2022 / Cologne, germany

European Rotors is the continent's leading vertical flight trade show, encompassing helicopters and new VTOL aircraft. The annual event in Cologne, Germany, is organized by the European Helicopter Association, with the support of aviation safety regulator EASA and the Helicopter Association International.    

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