As part of the U.S. Air Force Afwerx Agility Prime program, Capt Terrence McKenna remotely piloted Kitty Hawk's uncrewed Heaviside vehicle, which is one of several eVTOL aircraft being evaluated for military service.
License issuances are up, AOPA's high school program is growing, and more youths are interested in the emerging aviation technologies, Bolen and Baker say.
Boeing is investing a further $450 million in its Wisk Aero eVTOL joint venture, signaling its intention to hold a significant stake in the AAM sector.
Bye Aerospace claims to have seen market enthusiasm over its recently announced twin-motor eFlyer 800 electric business/utility aircraft, which is pitched as an alternative to Textron's King Air twin turboprop.
The company is running a full-scale example of the electric aircraft's propulsion system on a truck-based test bed to evaluate its large-scale tilting propellers and other components.
The partners are working on ways to safely digitize air traffic management by gathering data from sensors in all aircraft types, and securely storing and distributing it via blockchain-based shared ledgers.
AirX—which offers charter and sightseeing flights in helicopters flown by commercial aircraft operators in Japan—expects to provide eVTOL flights by 2025.
Avolon has set up a dedicated business unit to focus on what it views as massive opportunities with new eVTOL aircraft, which it plans to lease to major airlines and other air taxi operators.
A preliminary report indicates asymmetrical spoiler deployment may be a factor in the December 15 crash of a Gulfstream IV-SP in the Dominican Republic.