Recent Updates

Joby Aviation says it’s taken a big step toward certification of its eVTOL aircraft with the first submission of its novel staged approach to the process. Rather than present the finished aircraft for certification, Joby is conducting the first ever “area-specific certification plan” for the tilt rotor design. The first plan covers cabin safety and […]

NASA has officially extended flight operations for its Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, through September, according to an announcement from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on Tuesday. Ingenuity, which travelled to Mars onboard the Perseverance rover, recently completed its 21st successful flight. The rotorcraft’s future flights will focus on supporting Perseverance as it explores the Jezero […]

Embraer is approaching 2,000 pre-orders of its Eve eVTOL thanks to an order for up to 200 aircraft announced Wednesday. The order by Global Crossing Airlines brings Eve’s backlog to 1,785 aircraft. The order was revealed in a securities filing and the company said it will deliver the aircraft in 2026. The company has yet […]

There’s an old military pilot saying that goes, “Never fly the A model of anything!” While test pilots will argue the idea, the typical squadron pilot wants an airplane that does what it is supposed to do and does it without breaking down—that’s understandable. But for those of us flying “experimental” aircraft, it can be […]

Simulator technology and aviation training company CAE has partnered with Joby Aviation to develop and qualify flight simulation training devices for Joby’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. According to the companies, the project will leverage “core simulation technology Joby has been developing for the past five years.” Joby, which plans to both manufacture […]

NetJets said last week that it’s buying 150 Lilium eVTOLs and plans to operate them as Part 135 charter aircraft. According to TransportUp, the world’s largest fractional announced the deal in a statement to investors. The eVTOLs will apparently be based in Florida where Lilium intends to build an eVTOL network serving central and southern […]

Urban air mobility (UAM) company Volocopter announced on Friday that it has raised $170 million in the initial signing of its Series E funding round. According to the company, the round was led by South Korea-based investor WP Investment followed by Atlantia and Honeywell. Volocopter also signed a joint venture term sheet with WP Investment […]

China-based air taxi developer AutoFlight has completed the first proof-of-concept transition test flight for its Prosperity I electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) design. During the flight, which took place at the company’s flight test area in China’s Jiangsu province, AutoFlight says the prototype was able to successfully move from vertical to horizontal flight and […]

One of air taxi developer Joby Aviation’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype aircraft was involved in an accident during flight testing on Wednesday in Jolon, California. The aircraft, which is one of two Joby prototypes, was being piloted remotely and no one was injured in the accident. The extent of the damage to […]

In the May 1995 issue of KITPLANES magazine, we called the Zenith STOL CH 701 “more than just a pretty face” as a tongue-in-cheek reference to its rather ungainly, but highly purposeful, appearance. First flown in 1986, the little CH 701 is a perfect example of form following function. Everything about it was designed for […]