eVTOLs/Urban Mobility

Urban air mobility (UAM) company Volocopter announced on Wednesday that it is now selling tickets for piloted air taxi flights in its VoloCity electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL). Angling to become “the first electric air taxi company to acquire paying end-customers,” Germany-based Volocopter is limiting its initial offering to 1,000 slots. The €300 […]

Although the eVTOL movement has focused on so-called urban mobility, one of the many contenders in the market is proposing using existing airports as hubs for its future service in Germany. Lilium, which hopes to launch service using five-seat passenger drones in 2025, has partnered with Dusseldorf and Cologne/Bonn Airports to investigate using them as […]

A Japanese company has completed what it says is the first manned test of a single-seat octocopter in the country. SkyDrive did a four-minute hop with the SD-03 electric VTOL vehicle at the Toyota Test Field on Aug. 28. The pilot was at the controls but computers helped him maintain stability. There were also backup […]

China-based EHang introduced a version of its EHang 216 autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) last week designed to operate as an aerial firefighting solution. The company says its 216F AAV is specifically targeted at high-rise firefighting, aiming to address issues such as the insufficient height of fire rescue ladders, reach of fire nozzles and potential for […]

Aspen Avionics announced on Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement to become a member of the AIRO Group. As part of the group, Aspen says it will be able to expand its investments, resources and technologies in general aviation avionics as well as allowing the company to move into offering “avionics solutions for […]

Autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology company EHang has announced plans to build a new production facility at its site in Yunfu City in Guangdong, China. The AAV production center will also include an air mobility solutions R&D facility and a training center for “operations and technical talents.” According to the company, it is investing RMB […]

Urban air mobility company EHang announced on Tuesday that it has successfully conducted several aerial sightseeing trial flights using its EHang 216 autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV). The trial flights took place in Yantai, China, as part of the company’s world flight tour campaign, which is aimed at demonstrating “the reliability and versatility of its passenger-grade […]

Honeywell Aerospace has announced that flight testing is underway for sensors designed to help urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles land autonomously. According to the company, test aircraft are outfitted with the sensors and equipped with cameras that “analyze visual markings resembling QR codes” as a means of guiding the vehicle to the landing site. Testing […]

Flying cars are not even really a thing yet but the first race is already being organized. According to the website TransportUp two of its own vehicles developed with Airspeeder will race in South Australia before the end of the year. The Airspeeders are each capable of carrying a pilot but will be unmanned and […]

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) startup Airflow introduced its new electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) cargo vehicle concept on Wednesday. According to the company, the unnamed fixed-wing aircraft will require less than 150 feet to take off and land and will be capable of carrying up to 500 pounds of cargo. The single-pilot eSTOL is […]