After 12 years of developing the eVTOL technology on August 11 Joby Aviation became the first eVTOL and the electric aviation company listed on NYSE (symbol: JOBY), the first U.S.-based eVTOL company to go public, the first electric aviation company listed through SPAC after the merger with the special purpose acquisition company Reinvent Technology Partners. , and the overall 2nd eVTOL company listed on the exchange market in the US after Ehang which listed on NASDAQ in December 2019.
Joby team took a group photo outside of NYSE. The S4 eVTOL is behind. Photo courtesy: Joby Aviation
Now with over 1.6 billions USD on the balance sheet after the IPO Joby is well funded for the ongoing type certification and serial production of the S4 five-seat eVTOL. Joby displayed a S4 prototype outside the NYSE building.
Joby Aviation was founded by Joeben Bevirt in 2009 and is a front runner of eVTOL certification with FAA.
JoeBen Bevirt, the founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, rang the opening bell for NYSE on August 11
The Chinese eVTOL startup TCab Tech revealed the design of E20 eVTOL. This is the first eVTOL design since the company was founded. TCab Tech stated that the eVTOL design aims at the airworthiness certification, and focuses on the passenger carrying use rather than logistics delivery.
The only image of the E20 eVTOL design released by TCab Tech
The design features of E20 include:
(1) Pure electric;
(2) tilt rotor with a total of 6 rotors 4 of which can be tilted for vertical takeoff and landing;
(3) A smart cockpit which can accommodate 1 pilot and 4 passengers.
TCab Tech was founded in Shanghai, China by several veterans in the traditional aviation and eVTOL fields. The founder and CEO Yon Huang presided over the eVTOL project of Terrafugia, a subsidiary of Geely Group. Before joining Terrafugia, he held managerial positions at Airbus in China. Co-founder and CMO Jun Jiang served as senior vice president at Autoflight in Shanghai, and was deeply involved in the product management and market development of the unmanned cargo eVTOL and the planned passenger-carrying eVTOL developed by Autoflight.
We will update with more information about this project and other latest news of electric aviation in our “e Flight Journal” publication.
Deutsche Post / DHL announced today that they will buy 12 fully electric aircraft from Israeli /US manufacturer Eviation. Eviation did announce a design change of the aircraft earlier this month. Other than the first version with three motor released at Paris Airshow in 2019, the new Alice now has 2 motors at the end of the aircraft .
The new design of Alice 2 motors on the tailThe two props on the wingtips and the rear one of the first design ( pushers) were replaced by 2 pull motors on the tail.
Eviation CEO and founder Omer Bar-Yohay confirmed with e-flight-journal the design change which will make certification easier. More details coming soon in the next e-flight-journal
World Directory of Light Aviation 2021/22 New edition – The New World Directory of Light Aviation is available now. More than 1000 Aircraft in different classes with description, images and tech data. Featuring the latest developments like eVTOL and other electric Aircraft as well as an overview on propulsion systems from combustion engines over turbines to electric and Hybrid systems.
You find ultralights, microlights, LSA, gyrocopter, ul-helicopters, certified aircraft, kitplanes, trikes, ultralight and certified gliders & motor-gliders, instruments, engines, propellers and accessories. It also includes: addresses of manufacturers, importers, associations, schools and much more.
Available in English. French and German as printed paper Version or PDF download.
The Chinese civil aviation regulator CAAC accepted the application of Shanghai-headquartered Autoflight for the airworthiness certification of their V400 “Albatross” cargo eVTOL. The certification will be under large-category unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which is defined by CAAC to be over 25kg gross weight.
This is the 3rd eVTOL model applying for CAAC’s UAV certification. Interestingly the first two models Ehang 216 and Xpeng Huitian X2 are both designed and intended for passenger carrying operation.
V400 is pure electric, has 400kg gross weight and 100kg payload capacity. Autoflight is founded by electric aviation veteran Tian Yu who has designed and produced several electric fixed wing airplanes including E430 two-seat ultralight which obtained flight permit from German ultralight regulation entity DULV.
EHang Holdings Limited revealed its new eVTOL design “VT-30”, the first in EHang’s product suite that is designed for inter-city transportation. With a hybrid structure, VT-30 is designed to travel a distance of up to 300km with a designed flight time of up to 100 minutes and is designed for air mobility solutions for inter-city travel. As EHang’s long-range flagship product, VT-30 will complement EH216, a product focusing on intra-city air mobility, to further expand the air transportation network and improve the future urban air mobility (“UAM”) ecosystem.
So far, VT-30 has conducted vertical take-off and landing, power system and other tests. Moving forward, EHang will continue to conduct various tests and optimizations under different environment conditions, while continuously improving AAV safety and stability, with the goal of accelerating long-distance AAVs to be used in various scenarios such as air commuting, aerial sightseeing, and aerial logistics.
Volocopter today unveiled VoloConnect four-seat eVTOL design with lift surfaces which have been rumored for a while. VoloConnect is designed to work as an extension of the two-seat VoloCity in multicopter configuration. VoloConnect is intended to connect the city and suburbs and for intra-city air mobility while the shorter-ranged VoloCity is mainly for inter-city air mobility use case.
VoloConnect has design goals of maximum speed 250km/h, cruising speed 180km/h, range 100km and up to 400kg payload.
for more information: https://www.volocopter.com/solutions/voloconnect/
On 21 April 2021 Aerofugia, the aerospace subsidiary wholly owned by Geely and the holder of Geely’s equity in Terrafugia and Volocopter, announced a partnership with Wolong Group, a major electric motor supplier in the global market. In the announcement the two recognize the fast development and the significance of electric aviation and will leverage their technical resources to jointly explore the opportunities in electric aviation. They plan to develop, produce and commercialize a cargo drone within three years.
Aerofugia was formally formed in Chengdu, China two years ago to consolidate the aerospace assets and projects of Geely including Terrafugia flying car and industrial UAV.
Wolong Group was founded in 1984 with over fifty first-level subsidiaries, more than 18.000 employees, total assets of 4.9 billion USD, and annual sales of 5.4billion USD in 2019.
Aerofugia CTO Songbo Xue and the VP of Wolong Global Central Research Dongliang Liu signed the agreement in Chengdu, China where Aerofugia is headquartered.
… but U-Fly-IT boss Dennis Carley said they are still working on a name for the new entry.
Making 30 horsepower, electric motors show their super efficiency and delivers comparable performance to gas-powered engines while requiring almost no maintenance.
The electric installation on Aerolite maintains U-Fly-It’s trademark clean and tidy appearance. The arrangement looks well conceived and executed and with a few minor refinements in hardware to contain the battery packs, the Electric Aerolite is done and will enter production.
Aerolite 103 is a modest purchase, with gasoline models almost always priced at less than $20,000 in ready-to-fly form. Electric doesn’t change that too much so Aerolite 103 is not only a well-developed aircraft but one you can probably afford (though everyone’s budget is different).
How Long Can You Fly? Assuming a climb to 700 feet above ground and then cruising at 40-45 miles per hour, two battery packs will last about 30 minutes.
What Is the Maximum Endurance? While two battery packs are the minimum arrangement, you can have two, three, or four. If you have four, you can fly for about an hour, again and always dependent on how you operate the powerplant.
How Much? At Sun ´n Fun 2021, here are some price estimates. Two battery packs with electric motor, controller, and all mounts and cables lists at $9,750. A gasoline engine and fuel tank may cost slightly less but not a big difference. Each extra battery pack is $2,550 additional.
When Can You Get One? — Gasoline or powered, as of Sun n´Fun 2021, Aerolite is quoting around eight months to take delivery of a ready-to-fly; five months for a kit. Yes, business is that good! More than one Aerolite a week leaves U-Fly-It.
The american logistic company UPS announced toevaluate to:
Beta Technologies’ electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft to land on-property at UPS facilities in small and mid-size markets.
Enhances UPS network flexibility, benefits healthcare providers and small and medium-sized businesses.
Flexible, sustainable solution to reduce air network emissions; recharging station can also be used with electric-powered ground vehicles.
UPS, together with its UPS Flight Forward subsidiary, plans to purchase electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft from Beta Technologies (BETA) to augment its air service for select small and mid-size markets. These aircraft will take off and land on-property at UPS facilities in a whisper-quiet fashion, reducing time-in-transit, vehicle emissions, and operating cost.
This new step integrates into UPS strategy with UPS Flight Forward (UPS FF)to establish new airborne distribution channels – UPS FF received a full part 135certification by FAA which allows them to operate out of line of site and operate as a “drone airline” .
