Matt Thurber

In preparation for the construction of its prototype eVTOL aircraft, set to begin in the second half of this year, Eve Air Mobility is lining up suppliers and conducting tests of various components to finalize the design.

Using its new design for a lightweight turbofan engine, Brazil's Tupan Aircraft is bringing a trio of hybrid-electric cargo drones to market. The uncrewed vehicles will be able to carry loads of up to 600 kg on flights of up to 1,200 km. The company eventually aims to develop a passenger-carrying aircraft.

An electric-powered R44 helicopter modified by Tier 1 Engineering and Lung Biotechnology showed a new way to transport transplantable organs.

As Reliable Robotics achieves another milestone in its plan to equip aircraft with the advanced navigation and autoflight system, the company is closer to achieving its goal of nearly autonomous flight capability. The anticipated FAA approval will, however, require that a pilot be onboard to handle contingencies, but in all other respects, the aircraft will be flown by the advanced autopilot, supplemented by an operator on the ground.

Rolls-Royce is best known for building large turbofan engines for airliners, but lately, its relatively new Electrical division has been revealing ambitious plans to provide net-zero carbon electric propulsion for a variety of new aircraft. The company is a key partner for eVTOL aircraft developers Vertical Aerospace and Eve and is also working on plans for electric, fixed-wing commuter aircraft.

Diamond Aircraft aims to certify its new electric-powered DA40 light aircraft as soon as the end of 2023,. This week it selected Safran Electrical & Power to provide the electric motor system for what it will designate as the eD40.

During this week's Singapore Airshow, Eve opened up about progress on the development of its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft, reporting that it is now ground testing a full-scale proof-of-concept prototype that could be ready to start flying in a few months from now. Meanwhile, Australian companies Microflight, Aviair and HeliSpirit signed agreements that could lead to 90 more sales of the all-electric aircraft.

Heart Aerospace's all-electric 19-seat ES-19 regional airliner is expected to enter commercial service in 2026, equipped with Garmin's G3000 integrated flight deck. The U.S. avionics manufacturer is targetting new electric aircraft, and its system, which has also been selected for Joby's eVTOL aircraft, includes high-resolution flight displays and touchscreen controllers.

Joby has installed a fixed-based flight simulator for its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft to give advanced air mobility stakeholders a firsthand opportunity to understand how it will operate. Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief of FutureFlight sister publication AIN, took the controls to see for himself. He was impressed by how the new technology greatly reduces the workload for pilots, allowing them to focus on core flight safety tasks.