Electric Aircraft

Daher, Safran, and Airbus announced on December 10 they had completed the preliminary design review phase for the consortium’s EcoPulse Demonstrator, which uses a distributed hybrid-electric propulsion system. The review “freezes” the aircraft’s configuration, and it positions the demonstrator for its next steps, which include mounting Safran motors in preparation for the first flight. The […]

Ampaire last month flew its Electric EEL aircraft on a 20-minute flight from Maui’s Kahului Airport across the island to Hana and back on a single battery charge. The company is now flying the route regularly in a one-month demonstration program with Hawai’i-based Mokulele Airlines, one of 15 airlines that signed a Letter of Interest […]

Flying taxi startup, Germany-based Lilium, says it will build its first US transportation hub—a new 56,000 sq ft vertiport—at the Lake Nona community in Orlando, Florida. Lilium wants to create a network of electrically-powered air taxis capable of short, high-speed flights, something the company expects will become a reality within the next 10 years. When […]

Englewood, Colorado-based Bye Aerospace said last week in a news release that it entered an agreement with Seoul, Korea-based Aerospace9 for the Asian company to make not only a significant stock investment in Bye, but to also submit a substantial 300-aircraft order for Bye Aerospace aircraft. Aerospace9′s purchase agreement includes 150 eFlyer 2s, 148 eFlyer […]

Kahului, Hawaii based Mokulele Airlines has joined with California-based Ampaire to begin testing the second prototype Cessna 337 “Electric EEL” hybrid-electric aircraft conversion. Ampaire successfully flew the second demonstrator on September 10. The new prototype builds on previous aircraft that the company has test flown in other markets. Ampaire calls the new flight test aircraft […]

Hondo, Texas-based Texas Aircraft Manufacturing and British lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery technology company OXIS Energy, said they are jointly developing a high-wing, two-seat, all metal, fully-electric aircraft dubbed the eColt based on Texas Aircraft’s Colt S-LSA. In a news release, Texas Aircraft said, “The eColt will fill a growing demand for ecologically-friendly flight training airplanes, as […]

In a move that the companies believe will help provide solutions to regional air mobility, VoltAero, developers of the Cassio hybrid-electric aircraft, has joined forces with KinectAir, a software company that is creating “a flexible on-demand flight network utilizing an artificial intelligence-enabled smartphone application,” according to a press release on July 15. VoltAero, based in Médis, France, has been working on […]

Bye Aerospace says it completed a $5 million strategic investment by a venture capital group earlier this year. That investment was followed by the completion of a $5 million venture raise. Bye Aerospace is the developer of the all-electric eFlyer family of FAA Part 23-certified aircraft. George E. Bye, CEO, of Bye Aerospace, said in a […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and the European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) recently signed a memorandum of understanding to begin developing aviation industry standards to address issues such as hybrid electric propulsion, VTOL, cybersecurity and speed up the implementation of these new technologies. According to a news release, EUROCAE “develops standards for […]

ZeroAvia—the start-up company pursuing the goal of regionally optimized hydrogen-cell-powered airplanes—saw the first flight in the UK on June 22 of the Piper M-class airplane it had moved to Europe late in 2019. The move from Hollister, California, to Cranfield, England, followed the awarding of a grant from the UK government to pursue sustainable, zero-emission […]