Aircraft

No props, no jets, no rockets – Spencer Lisenby just broke the world speed record for remote controlled aircraft, going transonic using nothing but the wind, and an incredible degree of skill in a highly dangerous technique called dynamic soaring.

French startup MACA is looking to bring car racing into the air above the track. Its Carcopter eVTOL race car is no drone, manned by a human driver pushing the hydrogen-fed electric-driven craft to speeds over 150 mph ... or so MACA hopes.

Shifting to alternative propulsion technologies could go a long way toward cleaning up the pollution created by the aviation sector, and a new design by MIT scientists could cut as much as 95 percent of a plane’s harmful nitrogen oxide emissions.

UK company Autonomous Flight has been working on eVTOL concepts for some years now, with several prototypes already flown. Now the company has revealed a six-seat air shuttle called the Y6S Plus that uses an interesting coaxial tricopter design.

Palo Alto's Archer Aviation may be fairly fresh out of the blocks in its tilt at the emerging eVTOL air taxi market, but it's assembling some heavy hitters in its corner with today's announcement that it's partnering with Fiat Chrysler Automotive.

The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has released new regulations streamlining the path to supersonic flight testing over US soil, giving a new generation of super-fast aircraft a chance to prove their "boomless cruise" capabilities over land.

New York-based medical transport non-profit Hatzolah Air has placed a preorder for four of Urban Aeronautics' CityHawk VTOL aircraft for emergency medical service (EMS) applications within urban environments.

China's air mobility company EHang has added another location to its autonomous air taxi roster with the launch of an aerial sightseeing trial in partnership with real estate company Greenland Hong Kong.

Switzerland's Manta Aircraft is working on a flexible hybrid-electric canard aircraft design that will be capable of VTOL or efficient STOL operations. A one-third scale model has been built, and the team is preparing for its first flight tests.

Short takeoff and landing aircraft might prove an efficient alternative to eVTOLs in the early days of electric flight, using super-short runways – maybe even on top of buildings – while flying much farther on a charge than the eVTOLs.

With the move towards electric aviation comes new opportunities to explore what a powertrain looks like, and Airbus is experimenting with a new design that builds entire hydrogen propulsion units, tanks and all, into detachable pods along the wings.

EHang is on a mission to get its autonomous air taxis into the air around the globe. After flying into Spain earlier this year, the air mobility firm has now been granted its first trial flight permit in the European Union – but it's not in Seville.