Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

Malaysian flight school HM Aerospace has agreed to buy 15 of VoltAero’s Cassio 330 hybrid-electric aircraft. The deal signed on June 18 at the Paris Air Show also covers options for another 15 examples and is subject to the French manufacturer achieving EASA type certification with validation by Malaysia’s civil aviation authorities.
Over the past 20 years, HM Aerospace, which is part of the Halim Mazmin Group, has graduated around 2,400 professional pilots. The company said that its agreement with VoltAero could support a wider ecosystem for hybrid-electric aviation in Malaysia and the Asia-Pacific region.
At the Paris Air Show, VoltAero displayed a full-scale mock-up of the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2025-06-14/voltaero-unveils-redesigned-hybrid-electric-cassio-330">revised design for the Cassio 330</a>, which now features a series hybrid propulsion system and with a T-tail replacing the earlier twin boom configuration. The company, which is aiming to achieving type certification under CS23 rules in 2027, is also developing the larger Cassio 480 and 600 models. The aircraft have a pair of pusher propellers on each side of the aft fuselage.
VoltAero has established a manufacturing facility at Rochefort Airport in the southwest of France. The Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional government was one of its original financial backers.
The deal with HM Aerospace takes VoltAero’s backlog of provisional orders to 280. Other customers intend to use the aircraft for regional air services.

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