The avid self-promoters among the companies loudly proclaiming their intention to transform air transportation with electric-powered VTOL aircraft have each done a good job of giving the impression that theirs is the fastest track to progress. But what does this mean for operators and business models unwilling to be constrained by the range and payloads of battery technology, or who are not wedded to vertical lift?
In tandem with the eVTOL crowd, there are multiple promising programs focused on what can be achieved with various hybrid-electric propulsion options on fixed-wing aircraft. Among the anticipated advantages claimed by those taking this track are that the FAA and other regulators could see less technology risk in this approach, clearing the way to type certification under existing rules, rather than new requirements on which the ink does not yet seem to be dry.
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