AAM

NASA is funding further work on a near-silent propulsion system for urban drones—and potentially air taxis.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

The German startup’s chief executive discusses a pivot to private aviation, the need for additional funding and the company’s planned service-entry date.

The 30-seat ES-30 is planned to enter service in 2028; customers include United Airlines.

The KM-120 is designed for easy retrofit and factory installation in aircraft powered by small piston aeroengines.

EHang says that more than 70% of compliance testing required by the CAAC has been or will be completed soon.

Ascendance conducted full-scale ground testing of its hybrid system on an iron bird test bench in 2022 and is entering the prototyping phase.

Universities advance sustainability, robotic toolmaking, contactless braking and stratospheric batteries.

Small delays can undermine the advantages of short-haul flights.

Conformal LH2 tank; Trajectory-based efficiencies; CycloRotor eVTOL testing; and SAF from oil trees.

Luiz Mauad, Eve’s vice president of services and fleet operation, discusses the development of eVTOLs—including maintenance expectations.

AutoFlight, a startup with operations in China and Europe, has completed the longest flight to date by an eVTOL aircraft.

Moore, an expert on advanced air mobility, joins Aviation Week editors for no-holds-barred discussion of the challenges facing AAM startups in 2023.

eVTOL propeller test; hybrid-electric turboprop; hydrogen supply networks; and vertiports for Dubai.

Pyka, MightyFly and Moya Aero are among startups developing heavy-payload uncrewed aircraft for cargo use.

U.S. troops in the Middle East turn to new tech and adapted missile defenses to help protect bases.

Fast rotorcraft take shape, electric trainer advances and SAF from methanol.

The AAM committee comprises infrastructure and flight operations members.

Regional rotorcraft; AAM flight planning; Ultra-low-NOx propulsion; and LH2 for UAVs.

Why SkyDrive believes its true “air taxi” model is a winner.

The vertiport a a general aviation airport on the outskirts of Paris provides a window into the future of aerial mobility.

Eleven-blade propeller; Northrop studies uncrewed cargo; China’s aerostat drone; and wind tunnel tests for eVTOL concept.

A team led by Hanwha Systems plans to launch South Korea’s first commercial urban air mobility service in 2025 linking tourist destinations on Jeju Island using Joby Aviation electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) air taxis.

Europe has launched a research project to develop a liquid hydrogen tank that is integrated into the aircraft’s fuselage to maximize volume and minimize weight.

De Havilland Canada is providing engineering support to modify a Dash 8-100, replacing one of its two P&WC PW120-class turboprops with a 2-megawatt parallel hybrid-electric powertrain.