AutoFlight Celebrates Two Milestones

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AutoFlight, the Chinese firm founded by Tian Yu (Yuneec), celebrated two milestones, although maybe not “firsts” as described in the company’s press releases.  Both, however, are impressive and worthy of note. First Intercity Flight AutoFlight claims to have flown the first inter-city electric air-taxi demonstration flight between the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai.  In an autonomous trip, AutoFlight’s five-seat Prosperity eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) aircraft flew the 50km (31 miles) route from Shenzhen to Zhuhai. The flight across the Pearl River Delta took just 20 minutes, a journey that would require three hours by car.  For those with the funds to make the flight the difference in time is incalculable. According to the company, “This marks the first public flight of an eVTOL aircraft on a cross-sea and inter-city route, spanning across the bay where the Pearl River meets the sea, connecting the two southern Chinese cities.”  In 2021, Australians flew a Pipstrel Alpha Electro …

Three Personal Flyers You Can Buy

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…Or Invest In We exhibit here three personal flyers you can buy today or within a year or so.  Perhaps that wait might be prolonged in some instances because a few of the makers are also looking for investors.  Recent instances of troubles getting a certain stainless steel electric pickup to market come to mind, for instance.  As always your mileage may vary. Doroni H1-X “Engineered for the new generation of personal mobility,” the Doroni H1-X is a sleek little four-fan runabout that can fit in a two-car garage.  Two pusher propellers help drive if forward.  An owner could roll it out after an overnight charging session and fly up to 60 miles at up to 120 miles per hour, landing and taking off vertically from and to a driveway-size patch. Obviously, with a $300,000 to $400,000 price tag, one expects a well-sorted-out machine that will perform as promised and provide the utmost in safety.  To that end, Doroni suggests …

JSX To Buy a Fleet of Electric Airliners

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JSX, an American semi-private airline, may very well shake up the travel world with plans to buy up to 330 electric and hybrid aircraft. JSX (Jet Suite Executive) dispatches with some niceties of larger airlines, but also avoids long lines, TSA (Transport Safety Administration) baggage checks and shoe removal, and lengthy waits for mobs of passengers to stuff their bags in overhead compartments (there are none on their JSX Embraer 135s). Instead, a passenger arrives at a JSX ticket office, sometimes situated in a hangar on the sometimes funky end of the airport, gets a boarding pass and self-serves some light refreshments.  He or she walks out to the 30-passenger (maximum allowed) craft, climbs aboard and finds an assigned seat (either two abreast or single).  Passengers can even bring a certified service animal into the cabin. This type of aviation seems looser and more enabling than that of the big carriers.  JSX is enjoying a lot of press and some …

Electra EL-2 Goldfinch First Flight

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Electra.aero plans on lofting nine people into the sky in a little regional airliner.  As a first step, the firm just flew its EL-2 Goldfinch demonstrator from the Manassas, Virginia Regional Airport (KHEF).  As Flying magazine pointed out, the bright yellow aircraft, “pays homage to its namesake’s golden hue.” Although it’s designed as a “blown lift” aircraft, levitating on deflected airflow under its large flaps, the EL-2 made its first takeoffs as a conventional airplane, scooting along the runway until it reached flying speed.  Its November 11 takeoff was apparently on battery power only, with its November 19 second trip assisted by a (possibly Safran) turbogenerator.  Electra claims it to be the “world’s first blown lift aircraft using distributed electric propulsion and a hybrid-electric propulsion system.”  The eight motors appear to be Safran 45- or 50-kilowatt (60- or 67-horsepower) models.  Both flights were piloted by Cody Allee, chief technology officer of ABSI Aerospace & Defense and a former U.S. Marine …

Jaunt Journey – Maybe the Most Unique eVTOL

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The Jaunt Journey may be the most unique eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) machine coming to market, and it relies on something old and several things new for its advanced take on Advanced Air Mobility (AAM).  What makes it special is its combining autogiro-like technology with electric power and some different approaches to the transitions between vertical and horizontal flight. Jaunt promises to carry a pilot and four passengers 80 to 120 miles, pushing it into the realm of regional air mobility.  It can top out at 175 miles per hour, or about the upper limits of most helicopters while pressing down with only 55 dBa of sound pressure, considerably below that of any helicopter.  Its performance and several distinguishing features make it all the more unique. Somewhat Like an Autogiro Autogiros were pre-helicopter rotary-wing aircraft that could lift off and alight quickly because of a large, usually un-driven, series of blades above the fuselage.  Note how easily …

Wisk Wows at Oshkosh

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A Wisk Cora flew autonomously several times along the length of the 8,002-foot main runway, a first at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s 2023 AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  The July 25 event was, “The first-ever public demonstration of a fully autonomous eVTOL fixed-wing airtaxi,” according to the company. Under development and appearing in different configurations over the last several years Wisk’s aircraft have flown in Hollister, California and in New Zealand.  Cora represents the fifth generation of such vehicles.  Wisk, a Boeing partner, is not stopping there. The flight from another perspective, with an explanation of the noise on the soundtrack: “The noise is the 787 APU, not the @WiskAero. ‘  Note how the noise drops as the auxiliary power unit shuts down, with crowd noise competing with the Cora for dominance. https://twitter.com/i/status/1684023361804943360    A Future with Four Seats The latest iteration for the firm is their sixth-generation craft, simply called Generation Six.  It’s a four-seater, with ample room for passengers and …

Joby Gets Certified, Stock Jumps

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“Joby Aviation has received a Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Certificate for the first aircraft built at its pilot production line in Marina, California, allowing Joby to begin flight testing of its first production prototype” according to Dan Carney’s reporting in Design News. Having visited the Woodpecker Ridge development site and written about Joby Energy and Joby Aviation since 2010, your editor has seen remarkable progress in the company.  JoeBen Bevirt had about a dozen engineers working in his design studio then, and that has steadily grown to around 1,300 employees today spread over several workshops and administrative offices along the central California coastline. What is This Thing Called, Love? From the paperwork in the Federal Register detailing Joby’s application for a Notice of proposed airworthiness criteria, Joby Aero, Inc. is asking for guidance on its Model JAS4-1 Powered-Lift. Since the craft is not described as an airplane, helicopter or with other terminology, the Register includes this note: “The Joby …

Electra Rolls Out a Full-size Demonstrator

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Starting small, Electra Aero has rolled out a two-seat demonstrator of its multi-motor, blown-lift technology.  Bright yellow, the EL-2 “Goldfinch” celebrates “the beloved, nimble American Goldfinch bird indigenous to North America,” according to the company.  Its full-scale production aircraft will carry nine. John S. Langford, Founder and CEO of Electra.aero explains, “In the three years since we founded Electra, we’ve designed our eSTOL aircraft, validated our blown lift technology with a sub-scale demonstrator, and run a fully integrated test of our 150-kilowatt hybrid-electric generator at full scale.  Now we’re ready to test the entire system with this technology demonstrator aircraft. We can’t wait to fly this plane and show the world what our eSTOL aircraft can do.” Chris Courtin, Chief Engineer on the technology demonstrator project, explains the ambitious aircraft, a two-seat version of which will fly this year. Electra notes its “proprietary blown lift technology uses eight motors to provide additional wing lift, and hybrid-electric power that provides internal …

VoltAero in Three Flavors

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Jean Botti has had a remarkable career on two continents, culminating in his leadership of French company VoltAero, which offers its latest hybrid aircraft in three flavors.  It’s all based on a modular design which shares a three-lifting-surface aerodynamic platform. As the company notes, “First to enter service will be the Cassio 330, with five seats and powered by the 330-kilowatt electric-hybrid propulsion system. VoltAero’s follow-on six-seat Cassio 480 will have an electric-hybrid propulsion power of 480 kilowatts, while the Cassio 600 is sized at a 12-seat capacity with electric-hybrid propulsion power of 600 kilowatts.” The 330 has a wingspan of 32 feet eight inches and a maximum takeoff weight of 4,255 pounds (1,930 kilograms).  480 and 600 models share a 40-foot, seven-inch span and longer fuselages to accommodate larger power trains, more passengers and cargo. This impressive array of planned aircraft stems from humble beginnings, a Colomban Cri-Cri (the world’s smallest twin-engine airplane designed by one of the engineers …

eHang Near Chinese Certification

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Last September, eHang announced their EH216 is close to certification by the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) and revealed some astounding numbers. The EH216 (two seats, 16 rotors) has over 30,000 safe flights to its credit.  An even stronger sign that eHang is headed toward commercial operations – its safety video.  You don’t need to be conversant in Mandarin or Cantonese to get it.  Preparing for customer operations is a clear sign of intent. According to eHang, a “Project Specific Certification Plan has been officially approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (“CAAC”).  At present, various specified review subjects have been confirmed, including performance and flight, structural strength, design and configuration, ground control station, airborne human-computer interaction, totality, continued airworthiness, etc., and activities for demonstration and verification of compliance are being prepared.”  Final tests and validation will follow, with certification expected by this fall. They are preparing passengers for a professional, slick experience, and setting expectations at a …