FutureFlight

Monte aims to be the world's first carbon-neutral aircraft finance and leasing group by 2027. The London-based group has signed a letter of intent for 40 of the hydrogen propulsion conversion kits that Cranfield Aerospace Solutions is developing for the Britten-Norman Islander commuter aircraft. Monte has previously made agreements with electric aviation companies Ampaire and ZeroAvia.

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Spright, which is the uncrewed aircraft division of emergency medical service helicopter operator Air Methods, will support Dufour's efforts to bring the Aero2 drone to market in 2025 and will also provide maintenance and training for other operators in North America. Dufour is ready to start building the first preproduction prototype of the tiltwing design and is also working on an eight-seat eVTOL aircraft called the Aero3.

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Australian start-up AMSL now has funding to support flight testing of the first full-scale prototype for its six-seat Vertiia eVTOL aircraft. An initial battery-electric-powered version of the distinctive box-wing design is expected to deliver a range of just over 150 miles, and this number could increase fourfold for a hydrogen-powered model.

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Switzerland's Jekta believes that by the end of the 2020s it could be delivering an all-electric 19-passenger seaplane called the PHA-ZE 100 that would be able to operate in wave conditions of up to four feet. The company is seeking financial backers to step up work on a prototype for an aircraft that may eventually be powered with a hydrogen propulsion system instead of battery packs.

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Italian manufacturing group TESI will build the first prototype for VoltAero's Cassio 330 prototype, which is expected to make its initial flight in 2023. The Cassio family of hybrid-electric aircraft will have a range of around 800 miles and carry up to 10 passengers.

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ZeroAvia AGS Release Photo

Hydrogen-electric propulsion system developer ZeroAvia is teaming up with AGS Airports to bring zero-emissions flight options to Scotland. The two companies will work together to explore the hydrogen fuel infrastructure, regulatory requirements, and other resources that will be necessary to support hydrogen-powered aviation at Aberdeen International Airport (ABZ) and Glasgow International Airport (GLA).

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Merlin Labs has selected the PU-3000 multicore avionics computer, built by Canada's CMC Electronics, to power its autonomous flight systems.

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On the Radar
FAA Reveals eVTOL Airworthiness Criteria in Proposed Type Certification Basis for Joby's Aircraft

The FAA this week provided valuable insight into how it intends to certify new eVTOL aircraft when it published the airworthiness criteria it is using for Joby’s JAS4-1 five-seat model.  The proposed rule published in the Federal Register on November 8 marks the first time the U.S. air safety regulator has shown the specifics of the type certification requirements for the new class of electric aircraft. The agency is seeking comments on its FAA-2021-0638 proposals by Dec. 8, 2022.

The publication confirms that Joby’s aircraft is intended to be operated under both commercial Part 135 and private Part 91 rules with a single pilot on board and under visual flight rules. The California-based manufacturer applied for certification under 14 CFR 21.17 rules in November 2018 and because the process was not completed within the defined three-year period, the basis for type certification was subsequently updated in June 2022.

In a letter sent to shareholders on November 2 to report on the third quarter, Joby said that it now expects to complete the second stage of type certification by the end of 2022. However, the company also disclosed that it anticipates the start of commercial air taxi operations will slip from 2024 into 2025 as the FAA is now not expected to confirm its operational requirements for eVTOL aircraft until late 2024. Nonetheless, initial military operations for U.S. defense customers could still get underway in 2024.

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At the recent NBAA-BACE trade show in Orlando, FutureFlight got a front-row seat for a simulated flight of Supernal’s planned SA-1 eVTOL aircraft. It provided a snapshot of how new air taxi services could provide more efficient public transportation around increasingly crowded cities, with electric-powered flights between new vertiports.

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Featured Program

The eMagic One is a single-seat personal eVTOL vehicle, but a two-seater version is also planned by German start-up eMagic Aircraft.

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Featured Person
Michel Friedling
 

Michel Friedling, a French Air Force general who became the first head of the nation's Space Command, joined hypersonic aircraft developer Destinus in October 2022 as a member of the company's board of directors. Friedling is a former fighter pilot who graduated from the French Air Force Academy in 1986 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. In 2018, he was appointed as Commander of the French Joint Space Command, and he was promoted to Major General in September 2019. He left the military in July 2022 to found a space surveillance tech startup called Look Up Space. As a member of the board of directors at Destinus, Friedling will help the aerospace startup develop and certify hypersonic aircraft for both cargo and passenger transportation.

UPCOMING EVENTS
 
January 24 - 26, 2023 / Mesa, Arizona, USA

The 10th biennial Autonomous VTOL Technical Meeting and 10th annual Electric VTOL Symposium, sponsored by the Vertical Flight Society's Arizona Chapter, will happen simultaneously in the same place. The events will feature guest speakers, panel sessions, and discussions by leaders in the autonomous aircraft and eVTOL industries, as well as representatives from government agencies and academic researchers. The technical meeting will focus on vehicle design, regulatory solutions, automation and artificial intelligence, while the symposium will cover all the latest advancements and biggest challenges facing the eVTOL industry. 

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