In one of the most talked about and exciting technological and economic races in the industry, Harbour Air (YB) aims to make its commercial debut with its ePlane as soon as 2026.

Harbour Air, a seaplane airline located in Vancouver, Canada, has been performing test flights with a modified De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver with an electric engine since 2019. This prototype aircraft is helping the company transform its whole fleet to fully electric aircraft and be among the first airlines in the world to do so.

Harbour Air welcomed the Airways team inside its maintenance center, located south of Vancouver Airport (YVR), and briefed us about the latest ePlane developments.

Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard has a new innovative aviation project up his sleeve.

Together with his co-pilot André Borschberg, Piccard made headlines in 2016 after completing a global circumnavigation on the solar-powered Solar Impulse aircraft, a journey that took more than a year to complete in multiple stages.

In a continued exploration of alternative, more sustainable technologies to propel the future of flight, Piccard aims to fly around the world again, but this time on a hydrogen-powered aircraft.

Wright Electric reports that it had completed development of the rotor for its second-generation motor, WM2500, as part of the ARPA-E ASCEND program. WM2500 aims to be the world’s most powerful (2.5 megawatts) and power-dense (16 kW/kg) electric aircraft engine. High power enables WM2500 to deliver sufficient takeoff thrust for a large commercial aircraft. High power density facilitates a lightweight package for aviation.

A motor has two main parts: the rotor, the part that rotates, and the stator, the part that stays stationary. The rotor on WM2500 has been completed.

Sarasota-based engineer and test pilot Miguel Iturmendi set a second unofficial record for a multi-seat electric aircraft near Bishop, California, last month when he reached 24,000 feet in Helios Horizon.

But because it came when a judge was not available to witness it, that altitude will remain an unofficial record.

Next, Iturmendi will set his sights on exceeding 31,000 feet in Helios Horizon – likely in November – once it’s outfitted with longer wings, a larger propeller and newer batteries.

“The project is not about the records; the records are to raise public awareness,” Iturmendi told the Herald-Tribune during a phone interview from Madrid, Spain.

French electric aircraft developer Aura Aero is raising funds for its 19 seater aircraft on the CrowdCube crowdfunding site.

Aura Aero is looking for €500,000, or 0.2% of its €266m valuation, from crowdfunding to boost the detailed design phase of its 19 seater commercial electric regional aircraft (ERA), which will cost $800m. The company has already secured pre-orders for 472 ERA aircraft worth over $7bn.

The company has already developed a 2-seater electric aircraft called INTEGRAL which is providing useful feedback for the ERA development.

The company has already raised €460,000 from 44 investors in the first three days on CrowdCube, and is also backed by the Occitanie Region, the BPI (French Public Investment Bank) and venture capital firm Innovacom.

CrowdCube has previously been used by QPT for its GaN motor drive control technology and Nanusens for its MEMS sensor technology.

www.crowdcube.com/companies/aura-aero/pitches/ZpMQ6b

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…no, it’s an air taxi and it’s coming in to land soon, prompting cities across the United States to get ready for airborne urban travel.

Nobody yet knows exactly what an air taxi even is, how it might look or who will get to use it, but cities know it’s on the way and want to be ready for takeoff.

None of the small, electric aircraft in development has yet won full U.S. regulatory approval, but the process is underway, with some companies vying to fly as early as next year.

“This is coming sooner than a lot of people think,” said Jacques Coulon, mobility innovation manager for the city of Orlando in Florida.

Today, we are pleased to release our 2023 sustainability report, which highlights progress toward our goals, lessons learned and our path forward.

Aviation connects people and businesses, brings families together, contributes to local economies, and enables opportunity. At Alaska Airlines, we take these opportunities and our responsibilities personally. And when we refer to sustainability, we mean keeping one another and our guests safe, managing our business in balance, and improving our impact on people, our communities, and the planet we share.

Since 2009, our sustainability reports have transparently tracked our progress toward our short- and long-term goals, learnings over the year, and the work ahead.

Here are some highlights from our 2023 report:

The first in-flight study of commercial aircraft using 100% sustainable aviation fuel has shown ‘significant’ reduction in non-CO2 emissions.

In-flight measurements from an A350 aircraft using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) show a significant reduction in soot particle emissions and contrail ice crystals compared to conventional aviation fuel, says Airbus.

Airbus, Rolls-Royce, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and SAF-producer Neste collaborated to measure the impact of 100% SAF on emissions using both engines of an Airbus A350, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, and followed by a DLR chase plane.

Their model simulations estimate a 26% reduction in contrails’ climate impact when using pure SAF.

Compared to Jet A-1 fuel, the number of contrail ice crystals per mass of unblended SAF consumed was reduced by 56%.

DLR’s simulations estimate the change in the energy balance in the Earth’s atmosphere, known as radiative forcing, from contrails.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have achieved a significant milestone on the path to certifying electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This also marks important progress in our effort to more closely align rulemaking and policy initiatives between the United States and the European Union. We’re committed to ensuring the safety of the flying public both at home and abroad.

Review the Advisory Circular: AC 21.17-4 Type Certification—Powered-lift

AUDIO AVAILABLE AT FULL ARTICLE.
This story explores the rise of Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which promise to revolutionize the aerial cargo industry by offering faster, more efficient, and environmentally friendly delivery solutions. It discusses the exponential market growth, the paradigm shift in logistics, key players and partnerships, regulatory and infrastructure challenges, and the sustainability benefits that eVTOLs bring to the table.