FutureFlight

Merlin, a Boston-based company developing 'drop-in' autonomy kits for legacy fixed-wing aircraft, has received a $1 million contract from the FAA to demonstrate its autonomous flight technology with flight trials in Alaska.

Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company now has a 35 percent stake in LCI, which plans to diversify its portfolio to include new eVTOL aircraft.

The development of training equipment hinges on pending decisions from air safety agencies regarding their requirements for flight crew operating the new, as-yet-uncertified aircraft.

The fuel cells forming part of the planned ZeroE hydrogen propulsion system will need a purpose-built air supply system.

The FAA has awarded $19 million in research grants to 14 universities in an effort to reduce noise pollution associated with aviation and advanced air mobility.

The large hangar at the company's airfield base in Bruchsal will be used to manufacture carbon fiber parts and electric propulsion units, as well as for final assembly of its family of eVTOL vehicles.

Working with industrial gas supplier Air Liquide, H2Fly is preparing for flight tests this summer aimed at doubling the range of an aircraft fitted with its fuel cell-based powertrain.

The start-up has opened California offices in San Jose and Irvine to more readily connect with U.S. partners and also to advance its plans to achieve FAA type certification in 2028.

U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona made a visit to Beta Technologies in Vermont this week to see how the electric aviation company is investing in educational opportunities and workforce development.

Hanwha Aerospace is joining forces with advanced engineering company Stirling Dynamics to produce a key component of Vertical Aerospace’s four-seat eVTOL air taxi. 

Organizers of the biannual conference will stage their European edition in Dublin on April 25-26.

Newly released video from Horizon Aircraft shows the company’s half-scale Cavorite X5 eVTOL technology demonstrator conducting its first transition flight tests at the ACE Climatic Wind Tunnel in Oshawa, Ontario.

The Montreal-based start-up, which is developing a design for a piloted vehicle that could carry seven passengers up to 150 miles, is looking to select an electric propulsion system supplier.

The Turkish-UK start-up is trying to raise $50 million to support plans to bring the remotely piloted PD250 hybrid-electric vehicle into production.

Flying Whales has selected Honeywell’s one-megawatt generator to power its giant hybrid-electric LCA60T airship.

Suter Industries is providing its TOA288 engine as part of the hybri-electric propulsion system for Dufour's Aero 2 autonomous drone.

The U.S. House of Representatives' consideration of the 2023 FAA Reauthorization Bill has prompted pointed discussion of whether the country's air safety regulator is fit to certify and regulate new types of aircraft.

The Controls and Avionics Solutions division of the UK-based aerospace group produces electrical systems for multiple industrial vehicles.

The country's Civil Aviation Authority has also confirmed that it will adopt the Special Condition VTOL means of compliance developed by the European Aviation Safety Agency.

The company has reported technical progress in areas such as electric batteries, as well as growing numbers of provisional sales commitments for the LiliumJet.

ZeroAvia's latest efforts to ensure hydrogen-powered airliners can operate are focused on Skellefteå Airport in northeast Sweden, while electric aircraft developer Heart has a new partnership in the Baltic Sea Åland islands.

Altaport says it has already applied elements of its comprehensive vertiport automation system to operations at heliports in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The companies have launched a partnership to develop advanced air mobility services in the Indian subcontinent, building on current helicopter operations.

Rotorcraft business leaders told the Helicopter Investor conference that new vertical lift and short-takeoff and landing vehicles could have a positive impact.

Working with Georgia Power, the eVTOL aircraft developer has installed three charging units at Augusta Regional Airport.

Blueskeye AI, a U.K.-based software company specializing in facial analysis using artificial intelligence, recently received a £20,000 award to investigate how facial sensing technology could glean information about human behavior in aircraft cockpits.

The Ferrovial-Eve partnership centers on the use of Eve’s urban air traffic management software.

The European start-up has unveiled plans for a 40-passenger, tandem tilt-wing design that could also be offered as a freight-carrying variant called the SkyTruck.

The government of Åland sees Heart's ES-30 as a solution to meeting connectivity and emissions goals.

The French start-up is working on plans for two- and six-seat models that could be powered by hybrid-electric or hydrogen propulsion systems.