Held in the high-tech city of Augsburg, Germany, Oct. 25– 27, 2023, Airtec is an annual European meeting place for suppliers and aircraft manufacturers to find each other and to establish new business relationships.
In early November, an exhibition hall dedicated to electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft opened in Japan.
Perth-based Electro.Aero Pty Ltd began developing a mobile charging unit for electric aircraft in part because several airframers partnering with the Australian company complained about the same problem: fixed car chargers cannot reach the aircraft, and moving aircraft close enough to recharge between flights was difficult or impossible.
Horizon Aircraft publicly unveiled its half-scale model Cavorite X5 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft during the Downsview Aerospace Innovation & Research hub’s “DAIR to Innovate” Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Oct. 24, 2024.
The Vertical Flight Society again supported European Rotors — “The VTOL Show & Safety Conference” — on Nov. 27–30.
The Dubai Air Show 2023, held Nov. 13–17, was a resounding success, with both a variety of rotary-wing crewed and uncrewed platforms on static and flying display, and the appearance of an advanced air mobility (AAM) pavilion.
On Monday, Nov. 13, Joby and Volocopter conducted demonstration flights of their electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in New York City.
On Nov. 1, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced that it had selected four companies — Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell, Northrop Grumman and Piasecki Aircraft — to design prototypes for a high-speed vertical takeoff and landing (HSVTOL) X-Plane.
The US Air Force and Army awarded contracts to multiple firms to develop heavy-lift vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drones.
As 2023 was coming to a close, the leading electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developers appeared to accelerate their efforts to bring their ambitious plans to fruition.
