Manufacturers
NASA, Wisk, and Alaka’i Form UAM Partnership
As part of its Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign (NC), NASA announced on November 16, 2020, that it had signed information exchange agreements with UAM vehicle developers, Mountain View, California-based Wisk and Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based Alaka’i Technologies. The agreements will facilitate the integration of eVTOLs and hybrid VTOLs into the U.S. national airspace. Working with…
Slovakia’s Klein Vision AirCar Flying Car
Apparently, Stefan Klein is a man with a vision. Hence, Klein Vision, s.r.o., which has led him to develop and, now, successfully test fly his AirCar flying car. The AirCar looks similar to the Batmobile, but with wings and rudders that expand and retract to accommodate ground and air transportation. It can go from car…
PAL-V Achieves EU’s Roadworthy Certification for Its Flying Car
You have to crawl before you walk. And, apparently, you have to drive before you fly. PAL-V, a Raamsdonksveer, Netherlands-based developer of what it hopes will be among the world’s first flying cars (if not the first), obtained approval from the European Union to drive its vehicle on European roads. Sporting license plate J-7 71-PT,…
eVTOL News on the Fly
Japan’s SkyDrive Successfully Completes First Manned eVTOL Flight Japan’s SkyDrive Corporation, a partner with auto manufacturer Toyota, successfully completed the first manned flight of its Cartivator eVTOL. The Cartivator flew around a prescribed test bed for about four minutes as the pilot maneuvered at a height of up to two meters (about 6.5 feet). CEO…
eVTOL News on the Fly
eVTOL Maker Lilium Inks Deal with Dusseldorf and Cologne/Bonn Airports Munich, Germany-based Lilium announced an agreement between the eVTOL manufacturer, Dusseldorf Airport, and Cologne/Bonn Airport to begin exploring how the airports can become hubs and leverage UAM using Lilium’s 5-seat aircraft as a new transportation mode across the North Rhine-Westphalia region. “We are excited to…
Full Charge: The eVTOL Revolution Will Need Batteries
Professor Martin Winter says powerful, but small, lightweight, batteries are essential to eVTOL success. “Battery development is triggered by the stakeholders,” says battery technology expert Professor Martin Winter. Winter is founder and scientific director of the MEET Battery Research Center at Münster University (about 340 miles west of Berlin). But, so far, most of…