eVTOLs/Urban Mobility

The FAA has published airworthiness criteria for the Joby eVTOL aircraft, making it likely to be the first to be certified. The agency put the proposed “Special Class Airworthiness Criteria” rule in the Federal Register and opened it up for a 30-day comment period. The document runs about 12 pages and covers dozens of standards […]

Advanced air mobility (AAM) company Wisk Aero has officially unveiled its sixth-generation autonomous, all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi. According to the company, the model “represents the first-ever candidate for type certification by the FAA of an autonomous eVTOL.” Changes to the sixth-generation aircraft include a high-wing design, extended booms, increase in the […]

Vertical Aerospace broke the usual mold for first flights of eVTOLs by putting a pilot on board for the first hop of its VX4. The first flight was, indeed, a hop. Chief Test Pilot Justin Paines was in the left seat for the “flight,” which involved the tethered aircraft rising for a few seconds before […]

The FAA has released its initial design guidelines for vertiports aimed at supporting advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities. The design standards are intended to “serve as the initial step to provide key information for airport owners, operators and infrastructure developers to begin development of facilities that will support […]

Urban air mobility (UAM) company KittyHawk Corporation announced on Wednesday that it will be closing its doors. Founded in 2010 by Sebastian Thrun, the company was backed by Google co-founder Larry Page. KittyHawk’s designs include the Flyer ultralight, Cora autonomous air taxi and Heaviside remotely piloted electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which was […]

Lirio Liu, the FAA’s new executive director of aircraft certification, tried to soothe concerns of the burgeoning urban mobility industry with a pledge for flexibility in certifying the new aircraft. Liu told the Revolution Aero conference in San Francisco on Monday that there is room in the current regs to accommodate new technologies and the […]

Electra.aero announced last week that it has successfully completed a fully integrated test of its hybrid-electric propulsion system. According to the company, the technology was developed for its nine-passenger electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft concept. Propulsion system testing was conducted at Electra’s facility in Switzerland. “Tightly coupling airframe and propulsion systems is the […]

United Airlines has signed a $15 million investment deal with urban air mobility (UAM) company Eve Air Mobility for the purchase of 200 four-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The agreement also includes options for an additional 200 aircraft along with laying out plans for joint work on future projects such as studies […]

Another top-floor FAA exec has joined an eVTOL company and hopes to help shape the way the new aircraft are certified. Mike Romanowski left his post as the FAA certification director of policy and innovation to join Archer Aviation as its head of government affairs. Romanowski spent 14 years at the FAA and in the […]

The Air Force is having a look at how it might use eVTOLs and is starting with who’s best for the flight deck. It’s hired Massachusetts consulting company Aptima to figure out what an Air Force eVTOL pilot might look like. “The learnability study will help us not only understand the baseline pilot skills and competencies […]