U.S.-based OneSky and Australian company Nova Systems completed trials in March of a proposed system for managing low-altitude drone traffic in Singapore.
“Where’s my flying car?” may be the popular lament of disappointed futurists, but “Where’s the market?” is the more important question for startups trying to make roadable aircraft a reality. AeroMobil is targeting the exclusive clientele of supercar enthusiasts with its first product, the two-seat AeroMobil 4.0. But now the Slovakian startup is eyeing ride-hailing as a route to expanding the market.
To electrify future large commercial aircraft will require new wiring systems that can distribute tens of megawatts of power at thousands of volts safely and reliably at high altitudes.
U.S. business aviation traffic is up 11% so far in March compared to a year ago, following a 5% decline in January and February, according to WingX Advance data.
Sustainability of operations will be a key concern of the business aviation sector in a post-Brexit, post-COVID-19 world, according to speakers and attendees at the British Business and General Aviation Association’s annual conference.
Glenn Hogben was appointed CEO of The Air Charter Association, based in London, in January. Hogben joined The ACA in 2008 and was elected to the nonexecutive board in 2017.
Startup Reliable Robotics has remotely piloted a Cessna 208B Caravan from a ground station 50 mi. away, a key step toward certifying an autonomy retrofit for the aircraft that will enable unmanned regional cargo operations.
Norwegian domestic airline Widerøe has partnered with Rolls-Royce and Italy’s Tecnam to become the potential launch operator of the P-Volt electric-powered passenger aircraft.
The European Business Aviation Association is urgently asking European national authorities to eliminate administrative flight barriers caused by Brexit for flights from the UK to the European Union, saying it is “unacceptable.”
U.S. airlines are set to receive another $14 billion in payroll support after House lawmakers approved the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on March 10.
Dassault Aviation’s Falcon 6X made its first flight on March 10 from Bordeaux-Merignac Airport, thus maintaining a key program on schedule as the company tries to regain lost market share in business aviation.
A day after Singapore Airlines announced that it will trial the IATA Travel Pass mobile application, China announced its own version of a digital health certificate.
German aviation engineering services specialist Apus Group has begun construction of a hydrogen fuel-cell-powered four-seat aircraft which it plans to fly in mid-2023 and hopes to have on the market by 2025.
Archer has committed to launching an urban air mobility network in Miami by 2024 which will see Southern Florida join Los Angeles as a flagship market for the startup’s planned air taxi services.
Startup Jump Aero is to study the use of an electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle to calibrate navigation aids, as an alternative to a costly fixed-wing platform.
The unnamed suitors are proposing to purchase the two companies—Piaggio Aviation and Piaggio Aero Industries—which form Villanova d’Albenga-based Piaggio Aerospace.
The market for pre-owned twin-engine helicopters dropped by half during the first half of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, but the segment finished the year with a 10% increase in sales compared to 2019, according to Aero Asset, a Toronto-based helicopter trading firm.
Two industry trade groups are concerned that general aviation and business aircraft operators continue to deal with issues related to the intentional jamming of Global Positioning Systems for defense exercises and have asked the Department of Defense and the FAA for a briefing.
In response to higher power requirements for the emerging autonomous air cargo and urban air mobility markets, Honeywell is developing a 1-megawatt turbogenerator based on the company’s HGT1700 auxiliary power unit.
