Aircraft

ZeroAvia says it has successfully completed the first-ever flight of a commercial-scale electric-powered aircraft in the UK. On June 22, the company's HyFlyer aircraft with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain took off from Cranfield Airport, Bedfordshire.

Airliners can make a lot of noise and use a lot of fuel when they're coming in for a landing. A new onboard computer system, however, was recently shown to be effective at addressing both problems.

A Palo Alto startup has popped up out of stealth mode to lay another eVTOL air taxi design on the growing pile. Archer proposes a transitioning, winged, battery-powered aircraft, and its team includes senior talent from Vahana, Wisk and Joby Aviation.

ZeroAvia is creating zero-emissions hydrogen-fuel-cell powertrains for electric mid-range aircraft that could run up to 50% cheaper than today's jet-fuel planes. CEO Val Miftakhov says he'll have a solution for long-range international flights, too.

Pipestrel's battery-powered Velis Electro aircraft has become the first world's electric airplane to be awarded type certification by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, marking the clearing of a major hurdle on its road towards commercial use.

Israeli VTOL air taxi developer Urban Aeronautics has announced it's partnering with HyPoint to develop a long range, hydrogen fuel cell-powered, emissions-free version of its remarkable CityHawk aircraft, based on the military Cormorant design.

After months in lockdown, Wisk has announced it's back in the air, continuing flight testing of its autonomous two-seat Cora eVTOL aircraft at locations in New Zealand and the United States, as it prepares for certification and commercial flights.

Russia has a long history of experimenting with wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) vehicles, most notably the huge ekranoplans dating back to the 1960s. Now, Russian scientists are developing a smaller unmanned WIG, that's solar-powered.

Larry Page and Sebastian Thrun's personal flying carpet project has been grounded, as the Kitty Hawk company turns its attention to a larger, faster, longer range aircraft with better commercial potential in the emerging eVTOL air taxi market.

A pilot somehow managed to escape injury as his multirotor hoverbike suffered a barometer failure at a 100-foot altitude over concrete in a Dubai test. Bucking like a mechanical bull, the machine crashed to Earth and flipped over its rider.

Like a number of others in the field, German startup Lilium is out to shake up the world of aviation with an all-electric air taxi, and it has just picked up a little more momentum by way of an additional US$35-million investment.

The US Navy's Blue Angels acrobatic team has taken delivery of its first F/A-18 Super Hornet test aircraft. The fighter is the first of 11 Boeing plans to deliver to the Navy team this year and will be used for flight testing and evaluation.