Charles Alcock
Managing Editor
Charles Alcock is a senior editor with AIN, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at Manchester University in the northwest of England and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.
Latest from Charles Alcock
FutureFlight
Quiet eVTOL Flights Will Be the Benchmark For Olympic Gold at Paris 2024 Games
Volocopter is using advanced air mobility preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to assess eVTOL performance characteristics including aircraft noise.
Regulations and Government
Eve and Zanite Plan To Complete Merger, IPO Next Month
Eve Urban Air Mobility and Zanite Acquisition expect to complete their merger on May 9 and then float shares in the new Eve Holding entity on the NYSE.
FutureFlight
Eve and Zanite Expect To Complete Merger and Wall Street Listing in May
Shareholders in Zanite Acquisition are set to vote on the proposed business combination with Eve Urban Air Mobility at a special meeting on May 6.
FutureFlight
Lilium Submits eVTOL Type Certification Means of Compliance Plan to EASA
Gaining acceptance for the means of compliance allows the manufacturer to prepare to demonstrate that its aircraft meets airworthiness requirements.
FutureFlight
Preorder for 100 EHang eVTOL Aircraft Paves the Way for Urban Air Mobility in Indonesia
Indonesian company Prestige Aviation has agreed to add 100 of EHang's two-seat EH216 Autonomous Aerial Vehicles to its fleet to provide passenger transportation in the Southeast Asian country.
FutureFlight
Wisk and Skyports Issue Concept of Operations for Autonomous eVTOL Aircraft Flights
The concept of operations document spells out how autonomous aircraft could be safely integrated with new and existing vertiports and also with drones and piloted aircraft.
FutureFlight On The Radar
New Concept of Operations Spells Out How Autonomous eVTOL Vehicles Could Operate Alongside Other Aircraft
Skyports and eVTOL aircraft developer Wisk say they have produced the first concept of operations to directly address the challenge of establishing autonomous advanced air mobility services using new and existing infrastrcture.
FutureFlight
Developers of eVTOL Aircraft Resist the Safety Case for Parachutes
Parachutes can be deployed in seconds to allow aircraft to make a safe, soft landing if major systems like propulsion and flight controls fail, but are they suitable for new vertical takeoff and landing vehicles operating at low altitudes?
Airlines
For Now, Covid Remains a Bigger Drag on Air Transport than War
IATA says the fall-out from Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been relatively limited, with the exception of rising fuel prices and risks to leasing assets.
FutureFlight
Dufour To Locate Some Work on Aero eVTOL Aircraft Family in Montreal
The Swiss company is recruiting software engineers in Montreal, which is Canada's main aerospace industry hub.
FutureFlight On The Radar
Lilium's Latest Securities and Exchange Commission Filing Seeks To Inspire Patience In Investors
The company has reported that its Lilium Jet eVTOL aircraft is now not expected to enter service until 2025, representing a likely delay of at least 12 months.
FutureFlight
Jaunt Attracts Two New Canadian Private Investors for Its eVTOL Aircraft Plans
The announcement follows the March 10 completion of its merger with advanced air mobility group Airo, of which it is now a wholly owned subsidiary.
FutureFlight
Composite Manufacturers Provide Guidance on Advanced Air Mobility Applications for New Materials
In April, the American Composite Manufacturers Association is holding a series of webinars about how different materials can apply to the design and production of new types of aircraft and the infrastructure that supports them.
FutureFlight
Piasecki Prepares To Step Up Testing Regime for Hydrogen-Powered Helicopter
Piasecki Aircraft's CEO and president, John Piasecki, provided a detailed PA-890 helicopter program update at recent Vertical Flight Society events.
Aircraft
Lilium Delays eVTOL Certification Timeline to 2025
Lilium has pushed back the projected timeline to achieve type certification of its seven-seat Lilium Jet eVTOL by 12 or more months, to 2025.
FutureFlight
ZeroAvia Teams with Zev Station To Develop Hydrogen Refueling at California Airports
ZeroAvia and Zev Station are both participating in the Vertical Flight Society's new H-2 Aero Team initiative to advance hydrogen propulsion for aviation.
FutureFlight
Spirit AeroSystems To Work on Electric Aviation Group's Hydrogen Airliner Plans
The aerostructures group is to collaborate in the development of a 90-seat airliner but has yet to specify what its role will be.
FutureFlight
Lilium Pushes Projected eVTOL Aircraft Type Certification into 2025
The company says it will build and start flying the first production-conforming versions of the seven-seat Lilium Jet in 2023 and will then need another 15 to 18 months to earn EASA type certification.
FutureFlight
Australia's Greenbird Consortium Now Includes Local eVTOL Aircraft Developer AMSL
AMSL Aero is working on an all-electric eVTOL aircraft called the Vertiia, which would carry a pilot and five passengers or around 1,100 pounds of freight.
FutureFlight
Gold Coast Helicopter Operator Signs Up for Australian Vertiport Network Plan
Sea World Helicopters has joined a partnership led by ground infrastructure group Skyportz to develop commercial eVTOL aircraft operations in Australia.
Aircraft
Avolon Signs Up Turkey's Gozen For Scheduled eVTOL Services
The leasing group has now found prospective operators for 550 of Vertical Aerospace's four-passenger VX4 eVTOL aircraft, with deliveries to start in 2024.
FutureFlight
Turkish Operator Gozen Will Fly Vertical's VX4 eVTOL in Scheduled Services
Leasing group Avolon says that payments for provisional eVTOL orders will be finalized only after operating plans have been confirmed with prospective customers.
FutureFlight
EHang Expects EH216 Certification in Mid-2022 and Launch of World's First eVTOL Revenue Flights
The Chinese company told investors to expect an uptick in revenues during the second half of this year from sightseeing and firefighting operations.
FutureFlight
Lilium Gets Clearance To Resume eVTOL Flight Testing in Spain
The company had to suspend flight testing for just over two years after losing a technology demonstrator to a ground fire in February 2020.
Aircraft
UK Indefinitely Detains Two Russian-owned Private Jets
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed that a Global 6500 and a Citation Latitude owned by Eugene Shvidler have now been seized by the UK government.
Aircraft
Eve's Post-merger Capital Expected To Near $600M
Eve Urban Air Mobility now expects to raise nearly $600 million from its pending merger with Zanite Acquisition Corp. and subsequent IPO.
FutureFlight
Eve Anticipates Increased Capital from 2Q 2022 Merger and Wall Street Flotation
New backers for the eVTOL aircraft developer's public investment in private equity have brought around $42 million in additional funds to a deal that will see it merge with Zanite Acquisition.
FutureFlight
Joby's Second eVTOL Prototype Restarts Flight Testing After Accident
The company is working with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the cause of a February 16 crash involving its first prototype aircraft.
FutureFlight
For Jaunt's eVTOL Design, Slow Rotor Compound Technology Is the Secret Sauce
The company's approach in designed to deliver the best of both the fixed-wing and rotorcraft worlds.
FutureFlight
How Methanol Is Staking a Claim to Be a Key Enabler for Hydrogen-fueled Aviation
U.S.-based start-up Element 1 is advancing the case for using liquid methanol as a means of producing net-zero-carbon hydrogen fuel for aircraft.
