eVTOLs/Urban Mobility

German urban air mobility developer Volocopter introduced its fourth-generation electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) design on Wednesday. The VoloCity, which is intended for use as an urban air taxi, is expected to have a range of 35 km (19 NM), a top airspeed of 110 km/h (59 knots), and a payload capable of […]

China-based urban air mobility (UAM) company EHang has announced that it has selected Guangzhou, China, as the first city in which it will establish a low-altitude passenger transportation network using its autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV). As part of the arrangement, EHang will work with the city government to build necessary infrastructure, design safety rules and […]

Alaka’i Technologies debuted Skai, a hydrogen fuel cell powered electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) system last May. In this podcast, recorded at AirVenture, Alaka’i Technologies board member and former NASA director Bruce Holmes discusses fuel cell technology, the challenges involved with certifying a new kind of aircraft and the company’s approach to the urban […]

At AirVenture 2018, Opener was an attention getter at the Innovation Showcase with its fixed wing all-electric VTOL aircraft. With over 23,000 miles flown and plenty of funding, the company is moving closer to certification. For an update on the project, AVweb’s Ashley Anglisano caught up with Opener’s President Ben Diachun and project director Alan […]

In this podcast, Dr. Geoffrey Bower, chief engineer for Airbus’ Vahana electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) demonstrator, talks with AVweb about the aircraft and the company’s plans for urban air mobility.

Opener has donated a first-generation BlackFly personal ultralight aircraft to the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Opener BlackFly, which the company debuted at AirVenture last year, is a fixed-wing, all-electric, vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. It has a range of 35 miles (restricted to 25 miles in the U.S.) and can travel […]

The European Aviation Safety Agency has issued a “special condition” for the certification of eVTOL aircraft up to a maximum takeoff weight of 7,000 pounds carrying up to nine passengers. The two-tiered regulation on so-called “small” eVTOLs is described by EASA as a “first building block” to integration of hybrid and electric VTOL aircraft that […]

Boeing and Kitty Hawk Corporation will be working together on “future efforts to advance safe urban air mobility,” the companies announced on Tuesday. The partnership will focus on Kitty Hawk’s Cora division, which is developing a two-person, all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi. As previously reported by AVweb, Kitty Hawk introduced the Cora […]

Battery limitations continue to stunt the potential of electric aircraft, but Uber is betting that current technology is good enough to make urban air mobility workable now and will only improve as the vehicles mature. At this week’s Uber Elevate Summit in Washington, D.C., the company’s Mark Moore said battery capacity and longevity drives both […]

Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Science’s autonomous Passenger Air Vehicle (PAV) electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype crashed during its fifth test flight, company spokespeople told several news outlets at the Uber Elevate Summit this week. No one was injured in the accident—the PAV was flying unmanned—and no damage beyond that sustained by the aircraft […]