Recent Updates

Tecnam Aircraft announced on Tuesday that it has successfully flown its P2010 H3PS hybrid demonstrator aircraft. According to the company, the flight, which took place on Dec. 21, 2021, is the first for a general aviation aircraft with a parallel hybrid configuration. A collaboration between Tecnam, Rotax and Rolls-Royce, the P2010 H3PS is powered by […]

NASA has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to build a lightweight rocket designed to carry samples from the surface of Mars back Earth. The Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) will be part of the NASA’s Mars Sample Return program, which is working to retrieve rock, sediment and atmospheric samples collected by the agency’s Perseverance rover. If […]

Boeing has sunk another half-billion dollars into Wisk Aero, its partner in the urban mobility sector, to fund its flight test and certification program. Wisk is a collaboration of Boeing and Kitty Hawk, and the Cora electric aircraft is now in its sixth iteration and flying regularly. It has 12 wing-mounted horizontally oriented rotors to […]

One of the most common questions I received in the nearly seven years I was editor in chief at KITPLANES® was, “Why don’t you ever cover electric aircraft?” The answer we always gave was something like, “Well, when there is an aircraft that can be built by the average amateur that can carry more than one […]

Zeva’s Zero electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has successfully completed its first untethered test flight, according to an announcement from the Tacoma-based startup on Thursday. The vehicle made a total of four uncrewed flights during the test session and conducted maneuvers including a controlled hover, simulated taxi at slow speeds and limited vertical […]

The U.S. Air Force has awarded a contract to Boom Supersonic aimed at accelerating research and development for the company’s Overture supersonic airliner model. Granted through the AFVentures arm of the Air Force’s AFWERX program, the Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) contract covers three years and is valued at up to $60 million. The Air Force […]

China-based urban air mobility (UAM) company EHang officially launched its 5G Intelligent Air Mobility Experience Center in Guangzhou, China, on Wednesday. Developed as part of the company’s 100 Air Mobility Routes Initiative, the Center is designed to serve as an operations hub with “all necessary infrastructures” for EHang’s autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs). The 2,000-square-meter (21,500-square-foot) […]

Urban air mobility (UAM) startup Archer Aviation announced this week that its Maker electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has successfully completed its first hover flight. According to the company, the flight also included successful checks of the aircraft’s flight control system and the end-to-end close of flight software. Archer says it plans to […]

Boeing’s MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial refueler has successfully completed its first sea tests with the U.S Navy aboard the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) aircraft carrier. The tests were also the first conducted on a carrier for the MQ-25 and covered deck handling maneuvers including taxiing on the deck, connecting to the catapult, clearing […]

Bristow Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Overair to collaborate on the development of commercialization plans for Overair’s Butterfly electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft design. According to the companies, they will work together on areas including vehicle design considerations, key performance parameters, FAA certification, configuration and maintenance protocols, infrastructure, ground […]