Of the five electric air taxi developers that have been involved in going-public mergers with blank-check companies, only two are following the tried-and-tested aerospace business model of manufacturing, selling and supporting their aircraft.
Investment in advanced air mobility OEMs should cross over the $6 billion mark upon completion of Eve UAM’s merger with special purpose acquisition company Zanite Acquisition.
Joby Aviation has begun building the first production prototype for certification flight testing of its S4 electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxi.
A UK consortium led by Embraer company Eve UAM has completed a concept of operations for urban air mobility in London that identifies the near-term challenges and actions required to enable electric air taxi service.
It was the market, not the machines, that dominated the debate during a panel discussion on hybrid and electric airplanes at the British Business and General Aviation Association’s (BBGA) annual conference here in March.
Japanese commercial UAV company Terra Drone has raised $70 million in Series B venture capital from local investors and will apply the funds toward a drone air traffic management service.
Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor is looking at adding electric air taxis to its lineup of compact cars and motorcycles and targeting markets such as India through a partnership with Tokyo-based startup SkyDrive.
With the goal of being able to develop tourism sustainably, Air Greenland has partnered with lessor Avolon to explore the potential for zero-emission domestic air travel using Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 electric air taxi.
With Eve UAM planning to go public in the second quarter through a merger with blank check company Zanite Acquisitions, the Embraer spinoff has secured its first post-merger investor.
Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions continues to lead the emerging orderbook for advanced air mobility, with agreements for 1,785 aircraft of a total 9,277 for the industry.
Embraer’s urban air mobility company Eve UAM has added U.S. charter carrier Global Crossing airlines Group to its conditional orderbook as it prepares to go public through a merger with blank check company Zanite Acquisition.
Universal Hydrogen (UH2) and fuel-cell powertrain developer H3 Dynamics have partnered to develop zero-emission propulsion systems for unmanned aircraft, air taxis and new-design regional aircraft.
Slovakian startup AeroMobil is briefing potential investors on its plans to set up the first door-to-door aerial ridesharing service in the U.S. using a four-seat drive/fly vehicle.
U.S. startup Regent, which is developing sea-skimming electric seagliders to serve overwater routes between coastal cities, has selected Allocortech to provide safety-critical avionics for its technology demonstrator.
The zero-emission propulsion startup Hydrogen is to locate manufacturing and distribution of its modular hydrogen capsules and assembly of regional-aircraft powertrain retrofit kits at the New Mexico facility.
Using distributed electric propulsion to blow air over the wing and flaps promises to enable ultra-short-takeoff-and-landing capability but poses challenges for flight control because of the strong coupling between aerodynamics and propulsion, between generating lift and producing thrust.
