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Lilium is flight testing a sub-scale technology demonstrator of its eVTOL aircraft in Spain.

Pre-delivery Payments for Lilium eVTOL Aircraft Will Fund Crucial Development Work in 2023

Reporting third-quarter financial results to shareholders, publicly owned Lilium indicated that 2023 will be a busy and capital-intensive year as it works toward getting its eVTOL air taxi certified in 2025.

Lilium says it has started to take pre-delivery payments worth 50 percent of the $7 million to $10 million price of the 50 Pioneer Edition examples of its eVTOL aircraft. The company aims to firm up provisional sales agreements during 2023 covering a total of 603 Lilium Jets as it starts to build the first full-scale, preproduction prototype that it intends to start flight testing in 2024.

Fuel Cell Developer H2Fly to Lead Europe's Project Heaven Hydrogen Aviation Initiative

The German company has started integrating fuel cells and liquid hydrogen tanks onto the HY4 technology demonstrator with plans to start ground testing in 2023.

Joby Aviation subsidiary H2Fly is developing a liquid hydrogen propulsion system that it believes could power 40-seat airliners on flights of up to around 1,250 miles by the end of the 2020s. The European Commission has put the German company in charge of its Project Heaven initiative to prove the case for hydrogen-powered aircraft as part of the Horizon 2020 zero-carbon initiative.

The HY4 technology demonstrator, which has already flown with a gaseous hydrogen propulsion system, will now be converted to use liquid hydrogen.

Savback to Market Speeder VTOL Aircraft For Military Missions in Nordic Countries

The Sweden-based helicopter distributor signed a letter of intent with Mayman Aerospace to buy 25 Speeders in an agreement valued at $45 million.

The Speeder is a remotely piloted VTOL air vehicle that is intended for applications including cargo deliveries and evacuating injured troops from the battlefield. Powered by turbine engines, the aircraft is expected to have a payload of 1,000 pounds and be able to fly up to 400 miles at 500 mph.

Mayman Aerospace is developing the Speeder VTOL vehicle for remotely piloted missions such as military support.

Private Aviation Group Volare to Operate New Pioneer Edition Lilium Jet

The UK-based aircraft management and charter operator's new eVolare division has agreed to add up to 20 of the four-passenger eVTOL aircraft to its fleet.

Volare Aviation, which manages a mix of private jets and helicopters in the executive charter market, has set up a new division called eVolare to operate and sell Lilium's Pioneer Edition version of its eVTOL aircraft. The UK-based company will offer flights throughout the greater London area and provide maintenance.

Lilium is now offering a four-passenger Pioneer Edition of its eVTOL aircraft with more cabin space for executive charter passengers and private owners.

Archer Achieves First Full Transition Flight With Its Maker eVTOL Demonstrator Aircraft

Archer Aviation has successfully conducted the first-ever transition flight with its Maker eVTOL technology demonstrator aircraft, moving from vertical hover to horizontal, wing-borne cruise mode.

Archer Aviation has successfully conducted the first-ever full transition flight with its Maker eVTOL technology demonstrator. The milestone came just under 12 months after the company first flew the two-seat aircraft as part of work to develop the full-scale Midnight eVTOL air taxi that it unveiled in October.

Archer's Maker eVTOL technology demonstrator made its first hover flight in December 2021.

FAA Contracts Xwing to Conduct Autonomous Flight Trials Over Wildfires

Autonomous flight pioneer Xwing will conduct flight trials over California wildfires and other areas with flight restrictions to study how autonomous aircraft can safely integrate into the National Airspace System.

Xwing, a California-based company developing autonomous flight technology, has been contracted by the FAA to participate in the agency’s Crosscutting Operations Strategy and Technical Assessment (COSTA) air traffic management research project. Xwing will work together with the FAA and NASA to study how remotely piloted aircraft can be safely integrated with the National Airspace System while flying in complex environments with flight restrictions, such as fire traffic areas where other aircraft are actively working to suppress wildfires.

Xwing's experimental Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, modified with the company's "Superpilot" autonomous flight control system, is pictured during a flight test over California.

Volocopter Concludes European Urban Air Mobility Airspace Integration Flight Trials

The German eVTOL aircraft developer used its autonomous VoloDrone cargo delivery platform to simulate flights in Frankfurt and London during an exercise at a remote German airfield.

During two weeks of flight trials as part of the European Union-funded CORUS-XUAM airspace integration project, a VoloDrone aircraft showed how it can adjust to surrounding obstacles and changing traffic priorities in mixed-use airspace. Volocopter simulated how operations might work in crowded environments like Frankfurt and London.

Volocopter's VoloDrone eVTOL cargo aircraft was used for CORUS-XUAM flight trials at Magdeburg-Cochstedt Airport in Germany.

Electric Aviation Pioneers Invited To Compete in Pulitzer Air Race

The National Aeronautic Association wants to use the 1,000-nm race across America as a showcase for electric aviation.

In May 2023, up to 25 teams will compete in the Pulitzer Electric Aircraft Race along a 1,000-nm route between Epperley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, and Dare County Regional Airport (KMQI) near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The National Aeronautic Association has opened the registration process for any electric-powered aircraft, including new eVTOL models, fixed-wing airplanes, and helicopters.

The first Pulitzer Electric Aircraft Race in May 2023 will follow a 1,000 nm route from Epperley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, to Dare County Regional Airport near Kitty Hawk in North Carolina.

Airbus Adds Fuel Cell Development to Its Game Plan For Hydrogen Airliners

During its Sustainability Summit in Toulouse, the European aerospace group announced it is stepping up development of a hydrogen propulsion system for medium-sized airliners using fuel cell technology.

In a flurry of announcements at its Sustainability Summit in Toulouse, Airbus said it will start ground and flight testing of a fuel cell-based hydrogen powertrain by the middle of the 2020s on its A380 ZeroE demonstrator aircraft. The company also announced partnerships with Renault, HyPort, and space group Ariane.

Airbus' studies into a hydrogen fuel cell to power a 100-seat regional aircraft could yield a solution for its ZeroE program.

VPorts to Launch Air Mobility Corridor Between Québec and Syracuse

VPorts plans to launch the world's first international, electric AAM corridor between one of its vertiports in Mirabel, Québec, and Syracuse Hancock International Airport (KSYR) in Syracuse, New York.

VPorts, a Canadian advanced air mobility (AAM) start-up with plans to build a vertiport network in Québec, has announced the first-ever international electric AAM corridor. The company plans to launch an eVTOL flight route between one of its vertiports in Mirabel, Québec, and Syracuse Hancock International Airport (KSYR) in Syracuse, New York.