Recent Updates

Joby Aviation reported on Tuesday that its prototype electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft met the company’s noise profile goals during acoustic testing completed with NASA last fall. The tests, which took place at Joby’s facility near Big Sur, California, were conducted over two weeks in September 2021 as part of as part of […]

“For the time and money invested, there is no other airplane of this type that I would rather have,” said Paul Cox of Fort Myers, Florida. Without context, his opinion leans toward the homebuilder hyperbole side of the dial. The Experimental/Amateur-Built design he’s talking about is the Mustang II. He’s scratch-built two of them from […]

Airbus is heading a Germany-based partnership aimed at “making urban air mobility within and between cities a reality.” Called the Air Mobility Initiative (AMI), the program will set up a series of research projects focused on three areas: electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, unmanned traffic management (UTM) services and airport and city integration. […]

When you write about kitbuilt airplanes, every now and then a unique opportunity pops up. I recently heard a rumor that after 30 years in the aircraft manufacturing business, Darryl Murphy had sold Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing LTD and was now able to spend time fishing the lakes around Vancouver, British Columbia, with one of his […]

Urban-Air Port opened its first hub for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Coventry, U.K., on Monday. According to the company, the 1,700-square-meter (about 18,300-square-foot) prefabricated Air-One “vertiport,” which was designed for “rapid” assembly and disassembly, will operate in Coventry for at least a month. While open, it will demonstrate operations such as […]

The FAA has awarded $4.4 million in grants for unmanned aerial system (UAS/drone) research, education and training to seven universities. According to the agency, the grant research will focus on electromagnetic compatibility, detect and avoid classifications and cybersecurity oversight. The universities receiving the grants include the University of North Dakota, University of Kansas, Drexel University, […]

Lockheed Martin announced this week that a modified Stalker VXE unmanned aerial system (UAS/drone) completed a record-setting endurance flight on Feb. 18, 2022. According to the company, the aircraft logged a total flight time of 39 hours, 17 minutes and 7 seconds, which, once certified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), would establish a new […]

A local company says it plans to build the first eVTOL terminal and charging station at Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport this coming fall. Volatus Infrastructure said the $500,000 facility will be ready for customers before any customers are likely to be approved for commercial sale. Volatus spokeswoman Sheena Baker said the company wants to ensure […]

Volocopter, one of the pioneers of the urban mobility concept, has set the 2024 Olympics in Paris as the target for the first commercial operation of its 18-rotor electric aircraft. The first flight of the final configuration of its VoloCity two-place aircraft took place earlier this month and the company said in a statement the […]

If the name MOAC seems somehow military to you, there’s a reason for that—it sort of is. A couple of years ago, American Legend, the company from Sulphur Springs, Texas, that reimagined first the J-3 and then the Super Cub, built an airplane for a U.S. Army project. The Army realized that there are times when sending […]