
- 21 Jan 2025 06:10 AM
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eVTOL Leaders Go Global
By Mike Hirschberg, Director of Strategy
Vertiflite, Jan/Feb 2025
In the past few months, the leading developers of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft made progress in delivering on their vision for advanced air mobility (AAM). While the leading European eVTOL developers struggled with financing, other companies announced expanded initiatives in new markets. The following represents a summary of recent activities by some of the leading developers of eVTOL aircraft.
Archer Aviation
San Jose, California-based Archer made several major announcements since last issue. On Nov. 7, the company released its operating and financial results for the third quarter of 2024. Expenses during this quarter totaled $122M, leaving net assets of $501.7M. In addition, Archer announced that it was seeking shareholder approval for up to $400M of additional capital from Stellantis to help scale the manufacturing of its Midnight aircraft, as discussed last issue (see “eVTOL Leaders Find Uneven Success,” Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2024).
Archer revealed that its high-volume manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia, was “set for completion in the coming weeks.” Archer plans to install manufacturing equipment over the coming months so that production can begin at the facility in early 2025, with the goal to ramp up to a rate of two aircraft per month by the end of the year. The plant “was completed on time and on budget — in just over 18 months at a cost of ~$65M.” The facility is on an approximately 100-acre (40-hA) site adjacent to the Covington Municipal Airport, with separate aircraft production and flight test buildings of around 350,000 ft² (32,500 m²). Archer expects the site would be capable of ramping up to 650 aircraft per year in total.
The company also announced that Archer had signed an agreement on Sept. 26 with Soracle Corporation — a joint venture between Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation — for the potential purchase of up to 100 aircraft (worth around $500M), with the goal of bringing air taxi services to some of the most congested cities in Japan. This agreement includes payments based on certain milestones in advance of aircraft delivery. Archer and Soracle will work closely with the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau to obtain the necessary permissions and certifications. With this planned purchase, Archer’s indicative order book is now more than $6B (based on an indicative price tag of $5M per aircraft).
Meanwhile, Archer has officially established a consortium led by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) to launch commercial air taxi services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as early as the end of 2025. Through the consortium, Archer has made significant progress in establishing the regulatory pathway, infrastructure and flight operations plans necessary for market entry in the UAE. Archer hired Dr. Talib Alhinai as its UAE Lead from the Abu Dhabi Executive Office (see “Leadership Moves,” Vertiflite, Jan/Feb 2025).
Archer announced on Dec. 6 that it had entered into a multiparty collaboration agreement with key UAE and Abu Dhabi entities to advance the establishment of electric air taxi operations in Abu Dhabi. ADIO will facilitate the coordination between the other signatories: Abu Dhabi Airports, Falcon Aviation Services, Etihad Aviation Training, the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Global Air Navigation Services, Global Aerospace Logistics and the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility). The agreement’s goal is for Archer to be the first manufacturer of eVTOL aircraft in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the first to launch commercial flying taxi operations in UAE. GCAA officials participated in a week-long workshop at Archer’s headquarters and flight test facility in November.
On Dec. 6, Archer announced that it had signed an exclusive partnership with Anduril Industries, the Costa Mesa, California, defense technology company specializing in autonomous systems. Together, the two companies plan to develop a hybrid eVTOL aircraft for critical defense applications targeting “a potential program of record” from the US Department of Defense.
“With Archer’s ability to rapidly develop advanced VTOL aircraft using existing commercial parts and supply chains and Anduril's deep expertise in artificial intelligence, missionization, and systems integration, the partnership will accelerate speed to market for critical hybrid VTOL capabilities at a fraction of the cost of more traditional alternatives,” the announcement read.
This effort will be part of the eVTOL company’s new Archer Defense program, led by Archer’s Head of Advanced Projects, Joe Pantalone, formerly Sikorsky’s Director of Special Programs & Operations Analysis.
To support this initiative and for other general corporate purposes, Archer raised an additional $430M in equity capital, with participation from Stellantis, United Airlines and new institutional investors, including Wellington Management and Abu Dhabi investment holding company 2PointZero, a subsidiary of the UAE’s largest listed entity, IHC. Archer has now raised nearly $2B total.
Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer, said, “With Anduril by our side, and this new influx of capital, we will accelerate the development and deployment of advanced aerospace technologies at scale.”
Beta Technologies
Beta announced on Oct. 31 that it had raised an additional $318M in Series C equity capital. The funding round was led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), that nation’s sovereign wealth fund, and included several of Beta’s largest prior investors, including Fidelity Management & Research Company and TPG Rise Climate. Longtime customer United Therapeutics also joined this round as an investor. To date, Beta has raised more than $1B.
In the announcement, Beta highlighted that it is certifying two variants of its all-electric aircraft with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): its conventional takeoff and landing “ALIA CTOL,” or CX300, and its vertical takeoff and landing “ALIA VTOL,” or A250, which have different certification timelines.
The Series C raise will be used to continue the certification of Beta’s two models and electric motors. It will also directly support the continued ramp-up of production and delivery of Beta’s aircraft and electric chargers to customers.
On Nov. 4, Beta announced that Metro Aviation, “the world’s largest family-owned, traditional air medical operator,” had placed a deposit for up to 20 of Beta's eVTOL aircraft.
Beta reached a major milestone on Nov. 13, when its CEO, founder and test pilot, Kyle Clark, conducted the first flight of its first production-configuration CX300 (N916LF, serial no. BT31C-0001). The flight, which lasted nearly an hour, included a climb to 7,000 ft (2,100 m), handling qualities evaluation, stability and control test points, and initial airspeed expansion, prior to flying several approaches and a conventional landing. Beta also highlighted that the ALIA CTOL (and the future ALIA VTOL) features Garmin’s recently launched G3000 PRIME flight deck.
The CX300 (serial no. BT31C-0001) was manufactured at BETA’s 200,000-ft² (18,600-m²) production facility in South Burlington, Vermont, opened in October 2023 (see “Beta Goes the Distance,” Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2023). Following the completion of the ALIA CTOL, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspected the aircraft for safety and compliance, granting Beta a Multipurpose Special Airworthiness Certificate for Experimental Research & Development, Market Survey, and Crew Training.
Beta plans to test out the aircraft for a required 50 hours of research and development, when it can then transition to the Market Survey and/or Crew Training certificate. This will allow the company to fly outside of its Burlington and Plattsburgh, New York, operating locations and continue training additional pilots on the aircraft.
The company is also continuing production of additional aircraft in the ALIA CTOL and ALIA VTOL configurations, including ones to be delivered to customers in the coming months. These will begin to fulfill Beta’s deposit-backed contracts with global operators, including Air New Zealand, United Parcel Service (UPS), United Therapeutics, Blade Urban Air Mobility, Bristow, Helijet, LCI, the US Air Force, and the US Army.
Beta plans to increase production rates over the following 18– 24 months. The production facility has the capacity to produce up to 300 aircraft per year.
The company announced on Dec. 11 that Air New Zealand would acquire a technical demonstrator aircraft and several charging solutions, all to be delivered in 2025. The airline had selected the ALIA CTOL in December 2023 as its first electric aircraft. This demonstrator aircraft, on lease for six months, will allow Air New Zealand to conduct in-region familiarization exercises across all operations — including pilot flights and hands-on crew activity — in anticipation of its planned beginning of service in 2026.
EHang Holdings Limited
From mid-October through mid-December, EHang announced several advancements of its eVTOL aircraft. On Oct. 30, the Guangzhou, China-based company announced a strategic partnership with the Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC). Building upon the CAFUC’s expertise in civil aviation education, research and talent development, the two parties will collaborate on cultivating skilled personnel, including operators and maintenance staffs for EHang’s pilotless eVTOL aircraft, and their training for personnel licenses and operational supervision. This partnership aims to address the surging demand for talent in the low-altitude economy (see “China's Low-Altitude Economy and eVTOL Diplomacy,” Vertiflite, Sept/Oct 2024) and foster the sustainable, highquality development of the civil uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) industry.
On Nov. 8, EHang completed debut passenger flights in Thailand at the renowned Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in central Bangkok; this is now the 18th country where EHang has flown its autonomous EH216-S aircraft, which was the first (and still only) eVTOL aircraft to be type certificated (see “A Small Step for EHang, a Giant Leap for eVTOL,” Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2023). With the permission of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), EHang is planning to conduct flight tests in Thailand and launch commercial flight operations in various regions such as Phuket and Koh Samui by 2025.
EHang also announced on Nov. 11 that it signed a longterm strategic partnership and technology development cooperation with Zhuhai Enpower Electric Co., Ltd. — a pioneer in new energy vehicle power systems — to co-develop high-performance electric motors and motor controllers for EHang’s eVTOL models.
On Nov. 13, the company announced a significant breakthrough in the development of high-energy solid-state battery technology, in collaboration with the Low-Altitude Economy Battery Research Institute of the Hefei International Advanced Technology Application Promotion Center and Shenzhen Inx Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Equipped with this solid-state battery, an EH216-S completed a continuous flight of 48 minutes and 10 seconds; the test indicated the potential to increase the aircraft’s flight endurance by 60–90%. This is the first eVTOL aircraft to complete a flight test with a solidstate battery.
EHang also announced a strategic investment on Nov. 14 totaling over $22M from Enpower and an undisclosed investor from the UAE. This strategic investment brings EHang’s total 2024 financing to nearly $100M. The financing proceeds will bolster EHang’s efforts to advance the company’s nextgeneration eVTOL technologies and products, scale production capacity, expand its team, establish new headquarters and operation sites, and support general corporate activities. EHang then initiated a Share Repurchase Program to repurchase up to $30M of shares over the next 12 months.
Eve Air Mobility
Eve, headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, is the American eVTOL subsidiary of Brazil’s Embraer, the world’s third largest aircraft manufacturer.
In addition to the $88M loan agreement with Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES) announced on Oct. 15 to support the company’s aircraft production facility in Taubaté, São Paulo, Eve announced a $50M loan from Citibank on Oct. 30 to support the company’s aircraft research and development efforts. “With this additional loan, Eve’s 2Q24 pro-forma liquidity increases to ~$480 million, when combined with recently announced $95.6 million in equity financing from a diverse group of global industrial companies and financial investors in July 2024,” the company stated. Eve received an additional $35M fund from the BNDES Climate Fund for further aircraft development, announced on Dec. 2.
Also on Oct. 30, Eve announced that it had selected Embraer-CAE Training Services (ECTS) — a joint venture between Embraer and CAE, Inc. — as the training provider for its eVTOL aircraft pilots, maintenance technicians and ground handling personnel. The services will be part of the recently announced Eve TechCare, the company’s all-in-one service portfolio (see “eVTOL Leaders Find Uneven Success,” Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2024).
Eve, São Paulo-based helicopter flight booking service Revo, and its parent company Omni Helicopters International Group (OHI) announced, on Nov. 4, the conclusion of an urban air traffic simulation in São Paulo as part of a strategic partnership to develop the AAM ecosystem in the city. The simulation — which utilized Revo’s helicopters and Vector, Eve’s urban Air Traffic Management (ATM) software solution — modeled the management and tracking of eVTOL operations in an urban environment, applying the services necessary to respond to various scenarios, including delays on departures and arrivals, airspace/weather constraints, and in-flight deviations to alternate landing locations, among others. The simulation focused on validating new traffic management services necessary for eVTOL aircraft to conduct safe and reliable operations at entry into services and in high-utilization use cases at scale.
Eve also announced a major milestone on Nov. 4. Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has published the final version of the airworthiness criteria for Eve’s eVTOL aircraft. “The publication of the final airworthiness criteria marks an important step towards the certification of our eVTOL,” said Luiz Valentini, Eve’s chief technology officer (CTO). “The feedback received during the public consultation phase was invaluable in refining these criteria. We are now looking forward to continue working closely with ANAC on Type Certification (TC) and the FAA on the simultaneous validation of the ANAC TC.”
Eve, on Dec. 4, announced a letter of intent from Helicopters, Inc. for up to 50 aircraft, as well as service support and Eve’s Vector urban ATM software. The helicopter operator, based in Illinois at St. Louis Downtown Airport, operates aircraft primarily for electronic news gathering (ENG) in more than 30 metropolitan areas throughout the US. With this latest order, Eve now has letters of intent for nearly 3,000 aircraft — including customers on nearly every continent — the AAM industry’s largest preorder book.
Finally, on Dec. 11, Eve announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Signature Aviation — the world’s largest network of private aviation terminals — to “research ecosystem requirements as well as the ground services necessary for safe, efficient and scalable” AAM ground operations.
Joby Aviation
At the end of October, Joby hosted representatives from the FAA and three international regulators: the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) and Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Joby has applied for validation of its FAA type certificate, once received, with each regulator. The week of meetings, known as a “technology familiarization” is a formal part of the process of validating an aircraft’s type design for use in international markets. Joby’s global certification strategy leverages existing bilateral aviation safety agreements between the FAA and dozens of nations around the world, including these three, the company said.
Joby announced on Oct. 24 that it would sell up to 46 million additional shares of its common stock at $5.05 each, raising approximately $222M, after fees. The proceeds are to fund its certification and manufacturing efforts, prepare for commercial operations, and for general working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Joby made its first international exhibition flight at Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Shizuoka, Japan, on Oct. 31. Stakeholders at the demonstration, included Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, and representatives of the JCAB.
The flight was completed within sight of Mount Fuji (shown) and demonstrated the low noise of its aircraft, the third production prototype aircraft (N542JX). Joby said the flight highlighted seven years of collaboration with Toyota. Joby noted that “Toyota has supported Joby by providing insights from its extensive automotive manufacturing and technology expertise. Toyota engineers now work side-by-side with the Joby team in California and, in 2023, the two companies signed a long-term agreement for Toyota to supply key powertrain and actuation components for the production of Joby’s aircraft.”
Toyota has invested $894M in Joby, including $500M pledged in October (see “eVTOL Leaders Find Uneven Success,” Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2024). In its third quarter financial results, Joby stated that it had a balance sheet of $710M in cash and short-term investments, not including the $222M raised in October or the $500M in planned investments from Toyota.
The company also noted that it had completed the first FAAconforming major sub-assembly, an aircraft tail, and that the fourth production prototype was nearing completion and would soon join the flight test program.
Joby announced on Nov. 12 that its partner, Skyports, had begun construction on the first of four vertiports in its planned Dubai air taxi network in the UAE (see “Vertiports Take Shape,” Verftiflite, Jan/Feb 2025). As previously reported, Joby applied in September to become the first certificated air taxi operator in UAE. On Dec. 10, the company announced a strategic partnership with executive aviation company Jetex. Joby plans initially to install its charging system at Jetex locations across the Middle East.
In another important milestone, Joby received its Part 141 certificate for its flight academy from the FAA, the company announced on Dec. 3. The certificate enables the Joby Aviation Academy to deliver streamlined pilot training, enabling the company to efficiently and economically develop a pipeline of qualified pilots in advance of commercial air taxi operations. Thus, “future aviators will be able to enroll in Joby Aviation Academy's full complement of courses, which will include private pilot, instrument rating, commercial pilot, and certified flight instructor, in preparation for a career at Joby or other air operators,” the statement said. The FAA also accepted Joby’s air operations voluntary Safety Management System (SMS), established under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 5.
On Dec. 5, Joby announced that it had completed a training program with the US Air Force covering the maintenance of Joby’s electric aircraft. The four-week program took place at Joby’s flight test and manufacturing facilities in Marina, California, as part of the company’s existing contract with the US Air Force’s Agility Prime initiative. The program trained several US Air Force service members, including a test pilot and aircraft maintainers, on the specifics of inspecting and maintaining Joby’s electric aircraft.
Finally, as this issue was going to print, Joby announced that it had performed demonstration flights in Goheung, Korea, as part of that nation’s K-UAM Grand Challenge. Joby said it was the first electric air taxi company to complete flights as part of the official program, which was launched in 2023 by Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) to support the commercialization of air taxis in the Korean market (see “Joby Delivers,” Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2022). Joby’s third production prototype aircraft (N542JX) was shipped from Japan to Korea for the event, with appliques of Toyota’s logo replaced by logos for Joby’s Korean partner, SK telecom’s logo. Joby is participating in the Grand Challenge as part of the “K-UAM Dream Team,” a consortium that includes SK Telecom, Hanwha Systems, TMAP and Korea Airports Corporation, which operates most airports in Korea.
Lilium
As reported in the last issue (see “eVTOL Leaders Find Uneven Success,” Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2024), Munich, Germany-based Lilium filed for “self-administration,” similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US, at the end of October. This was necessitated when the German parliament’s budget committee declined to approve a €50M ($52M) loan guarantee that was a condition for a private fundraise and a matching €50M from the Bavarian state government to guarantee a €50M loan.
The company announced on Nov. 6 that it had appointed KPMG — one of the world’s four largest accounting companies — for the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) process. “Preliminary insolvency proceedings under self-administration are courtordered restructuring proceedings aimed at preserving the business. The management remains in charge and leads the business through the proceedings, supported by restructuring experts,” Lilium stated. Although some less critical operations have been shut down, the company is still moving forward towards first flight.
At the time, the company noted that the first two Lilium Jets were currently on the final assembly line, with the first aircraft (MSN1) having recently completed the initial low-voltage poweron milestone (after high-voltage power on in September) and would be advancing into the ground testing phase. The crewed first flight is planned for early 2025.
The fuselage and wings of the third aircraft (MSN 3) were in assembly at Spanish aerostructures suppliers Aciturri and Aernnova, respectively. At the end of October, Lilium moved its fully assembled, non-flying conforming Lilium Jet airframe (MSN 1) into the static test rig for structural testing (shown).
On Dec. 5, Lilium announced that testing of its ducted fan technology was advancing, with several of its final “electric engine” configurations now built and being tested in parallel. The engines had already accumulated several hours of cruise-speed runtime, with 10,000 data points being collected per second. Lilium teams have also conducted testing of the propulsion vectoring system, including the servo actuator and servo control unit, as well as initial in-house tests of an engine blade detachment event, using a representative Lilium Jet propulsion mounting system and motor.
The company also successfully completed a landing gear drop test. The drop test is an essential part of the safety of flight program and counts for certification credit of the Lilium Jet. The latest nose landing gear drop test was performed in November by MA Group at its facilities in Naples, Italy.
EASA also recently carried out its second regular Lilium Design Organisation Approval (DOA) audit, which confirmed that the Lilium organization continues to work in compliance with EASA regulations.
Meanwhile, Lilium’s flight test team has been working with UK aviation software specialist myairops since 2022. The companies have now expanded collaboration to customize their software solution towards meeting Lilium’s upcoming flight test needs. A software solution will now be implemented for management of flight and aircraft maintenance operations — including planning, scheduling and tracking of flights, work order planning and maintenance event scheduling for Lilium Jet purchasers.
The Ambitious Group — an executive operator planning initial eVTOL operations out of Marbella in Spain and Amsterdam in the Netherlands — has entered into a binding sales agreement with Lilium for the purchase of eight Lilium Jets, with an option to acquire an additional six aircraft.
Lilium’s orders now total 108 firm orders and reservations, 82 options, and nearly 600 aircraft under MOUs; the insolvency proceedings resulted in the cancelation of six reservations by ASL Group. Orders are from operators in the US, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Lilium’s largest shareholder is Shenzhen, China-based Tencent Holdings, Ltd., one of the world's largest multimedia and video game companies, reportedly with a 24% share.
Vertical Aerospace
Bristol, UK-based Vertical made its first piloted, untethered flight on Nov. 12, using its more advanced, second VX4 prototype (G-EVTA), with Chief Test Pilot Simon Davies in the cockpit. After completing 20 piloted, tethered tests in September, this second of four testing phases will expand the flight test envelope, following the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) expansion of the company’s permit to fly.
On Nov. 12, Vertical also launched its “Flightpath 2030,” the company’s “strategy for market leadership as we pioneer electric aviation.” The strategy sets out how the company is moving from prototype to production, and “how we will deliver the safest and most versatile aircraft to market,” setting aggressive goals for future milestones towards certification by 2028.
Also significantly, the company announced on Nov. 20 that it had reached a comprehensive funding agreement with longtime investor Mudrick Capital Management, totaling $180M. This included a $25M upfront equity commitment and a $25M backstop for future funding rounds, as well as $130M debt conversion into equity, “significantly deleveraging our balance sheet and providing future stability.” There will also be a fixed conversion price for Mudrick’s remaining convertible notes, bringing certainty for future fundraising. The terms also provided Vertical with extended loan repayment to 2028, providing stability security through its certification program. As opposed to gaining financing from outside the country, Vertical highlighted this “renewed UK commitment.”
A major issue that had blocked Vertical from raising more capital was a dispute between the company’s founder Stephen Fitzpatrick, who owns a controlling 70% share of the company, and Mudrick Capital. Led by Jason Mudrick, the investment firm “extended an initial lifeline to Vertical in October 2021 when it agreed to provide $192 million in funding in the form of convertible notes — debt that can be converted into shares,” The Air Current posted in October. The issues were the conversion rate and the maturity rate of Mudrick’s investment. These were resolved, with a reduction in Fitzpatrick's share and increased ability to raise capital from other investors.
Volocopter
Like Lilium, Volocopter had also unsuccessfully sought state and/or federal loan guarantees to support its development in Germany. In November, Volocopter announced that its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) would be former Lilium CFO Oliver Vogelgesang (see “Leadership Moves,” Vertiflite, Jan/Feb 2025). CEO Dirk Hoke will be stepping down in February, he announced in September (see “Leadership Moves,” Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2024), at which time it was also announced that Zhihao Xu, CEO of Chinese automotive giant Geely Technology, had joined Volocopter’s advisory board.
Bloomberg broke the news on Nov. 12 that Geely was in advanced talks to take control of Volocopter to save it from potential bankruptcy. Geely, which is the major shareholder of Swedish automaker Volvo, first invested in Volocopter in 2019, and announced a joint venture to manufacture and operate Volocopter designs in China (see “Electric VTOL News,” Vertiflite, May/June 2021).
Bloomberg’s sources claimed that Geely wanted to take a majority share in Volocopter “by leading a consortium that will inject fresh capital [of] about $95 million in exchange for roughly 85% ownership.” This would indicate a valuation of about $110M, a 94% drop from $1.9B in 2022. Part of the consortium of investors would be the family office of German industrialist Gerhard Sturm.
Geely’s plan was reportedly that the Bruchsal, Germany, headquarters would continue the development and certification of its two-seat VoloCity eVTOL, but “Volocopter is weighing moving the manufacturing of its future aircraft to China.” Geely has also been developing its own eVTOL aircraft in China under its Aerofugia brand.
Bloomberg reported that Volocopter declined to comment but was reportedly talking with other companies as well. “As a privately funded company, we strategically look at multiple strands of financing available to us at one time,” Volocopter said.
Volocopter’s delays in certification are reportedly due to EASA’s requirement for the two-seat aircraft to meet the same level of safety as airliners (see “Commentary: EASA Publishes SC-VTOL,” Vertiflite, Sept/Oct 2019). The massive redundancy caused weight growth, necessitating larger propellers and new electric motors to be qualified and certificated. This has pushed EASA certification into 2025, only “receiving improved motors in recent weeks,” Aviation International News posted on Nov. 18.
On Nov. 20, Volocopter posted that it had completed 50 hours of wind tunnel testing of a VoloCity motor and propeller at the Czech Aerospace Research Centre (VZLU) in Prague. These and other critical components must comply with EASA’s SC-VTOL and SC-EHPS special conditions requirements for durability and performance. The test deploys realistic (and potentially even higher) loads on the components to test their structural integrity over their lifetime.
Separately, Volocopter completed initial impact testing on the latest propeller design as part of its certification roadmap. EASA representatives observed the test, during which the company tested several impact conditions, including the most critical test with the highest impact energy. Volocopter notes that it has its own in-house whirl tower system, allowing engineers to conduct regular test campaigns to support the development and certification activities.
In parallel to its ongoing flight testing, the company’s production team is progressing with the final assembly of its fourth and fifth VoloCity prototypes.
Finally, on Dec. 13, the company announced that it had officially completed 75% of the audits required to obtain its type certification from EASA. The company successfully passed a portion of its electric propulsion system (EPS) audit, with the EASA team on site. Critical systems such as this are subject to development assurance audits, showing that software, hardware, and systems are developed in compliance with airworthiness requirements. Completing three-quarters of the required audits is a significant win for Volocopter as it brings us closer to becoming the first eVTOL designer and developer with an EASA-certified aircraft, paving the way for global expansion.
Meanwhile, the original two-seat VC200, the world's first full-scale and crewed multicopter prototype, known as the “White Lady,” was put on permanent display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. A ceremony honored Volocopter founders Stephan Wolf and Alexander Zosel in pioneering batteryelectric aviation.
Wisk Aero
Wisk posted on social media on Oct. 30 that it had representatives of the US FAA from its (newly renamed) William J. Hughes Center for Advanced Aerospace visit its Mountain View, California, headquarters. The company announced a joint research initiative focused on safely integrating AAM operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). Specifically, they will be evaluating remotely supervised eVTOL aircraft operations.
Wisk is working with SkyGrid — both fully owned subsidiaries of The Boeing Company — as its third-party service provider (TSPs). The joint research will help Wisk assess how remotely supervised aircraft, including its forthcoming Generation 6 eVTOL, can safely operate under current instrument flight rules (IFR) alongside air traffic control in an advanced simulation environment.
In partnership with the FAA Tech Center, Wisk is “utilizing leading-edge airspace simulation capabilities to conduct pilot-in-the-loop and controller-in-the-loop testing.” This research supports potential solutions for safe integration of AAM operations in the NAS, unlocking new opportunities for safety and efficiency for all airspace users, the company stated.
Wisk announced on Nov. 12 that the FAA has issued the Stage 2 G-1 issue paper for its autonomous aircraft, which sets forth the specific airworthiness standards and environmental rules required for its FAA type certification.
As reported last issue, Wisk signed an MOU in August with Airservices Australia, the government-owned air traffic management provider in Australia, to lay the foundation for incorporating Wisk’s aircraft into Australia’s airspace. On Nov. 21, Wisk signed a strategic alliance agreement with Archerfield Airport, the largest corporate and general aviation airport in Queensland, reported Australian Aviation website. The airport is 6.8 miles (11 km) from the Brisbane central business district, and between three zones of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. The MOU will support collaboration on electrification and other considerations at the airport to support AAM operations.
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