Bell announced on Oct. 2 that it had signed teaming agreement with Garmin International, Inc. on the development and integration of the autonomous vehicle management computer (VMC) systems to support the company's eVTOL on-demand mobility aircraft, the Bell Air Taxi. As noted previously, Safran will provide the hybrid-electric propulsion system for Bell’s VTOL aircraft.
On Oct. 15, 2018, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a public notice of its proposal of airworthiness standards to “enable the certification of small vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. This is to develop the first component of the regulatory framework to enable the safe operation of air taxi and electric VTOL (eVTOL) aircraft in Europe.”
Air New Zealand and Zephyr Airworks announced on Oct. 16 that they had signed an agreement to work collaboratively on bringing the world's first autonomous electric air taxi service to market in New Zealand. Zephyr Airworks is the operating company in New Zealand for Kitty Hawk’s Cora eVTOL.
Volocopter announced on Oct. 18, 2018, that it would be testing its eVTOL (whether the VC200 or 2X was not revealed) in Singapore next year. The flight tests are designed to verify the ability of Volocopter’s eVTOL vehicles to operate in Singapore’s urban environment.
A third eVTOL has been acknowledged by the FAA as a Part 103 ultralight, according to a Hoversurf news release on Sept. 28, 2018: "HOVERSURF has met FAA part 103 guidelines for a personal Vertical Take - Off and Landing aircraft." (Originally this was posted as "Hoversurf just became an approved personal Vertical Take -Off and Landing aircraft" but the FAA does not approve aircraft for Part 103.)
The opening of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Center for Mobility with Vertical Lift (MOVE) was held on Oct. 2-3, 2018, at the university, located in Troy, New York: http://move.rpi.edu
Fueled by explosive growth in the emergent field of electric VTOL aircraft, as well as the U.S. DoD’s interest in high-speed VTOL aircraft, vertical lift technology is undergoing a major renaissance and is at one of the most exciting points in its development history.
The US House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing of the Subcommittee on Aviation on “Airspace Integration of New Aircraft” on Sept. 6, 2018.
Hearing Background Memo
Electric truck manufacturer Workhorse Group announced on Sept. 18 that it had engaged investment bank B. Riley FBR to sell its SureFly operating unit, which is developing its hybrid-electric SureFly eVTOL. "Now that SureFly is doing hover test flights and has entered into the Type Certification Process with the FAA, we believe it is the ideal time to find a suitable partner or buyer that wishes to lead the eVTOL race," stated Stephen Burns, CEO of Workhorse.
The CAFE Foundation's 12th Annual Electric Aircraft Symposium (EAS) was held on the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus on July 21-22 prior to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018. The theme was "The Future of Flight: Electric Aviation Technologies and Opportunities."
Vertical Flight Society Executive Director Mike Hirschberg is providing an overview of eVTOL promise and progress in a briefing, "The Electric VTOL Revolution," to the 44th European Rotorcraft Forum (ERF) at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands on Sept. 19, 2018.
