Airbus and Siemens cooperation cut short
Airbus and Siemens have apparently prematurely terminated their 2016 development cooperation for hybrid-electric aircraft engines.
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Eviation turns to MagniX for e-aircraft propulsion systems
The Israeli startup Eviation Aircraft will work with MagniX as engine supplier for its nine-seater electric aircraft Alice, which was presented as a prototype for the first time in 2017. MagniX will contribute its 280 kW propulsion system called Magni250.
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UK: Airship Airlander 10 to receive electric motor
The UK Aerospace Research and Technology Programme is awarding a grant of more than £1 million (around €1.16 million) to Hybrid Air Vehicles, Collins Aerospace and the University of Nottingham. The partners will develop a novel all-electric propulsor for the Airlander 10 zeppelin.
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Lilium air taxi seeks EASA & US approval + first CFO
Lilium, the startup that wants to launch a fleet of flying electric cars in cities across the globe by 2025, is awaiting safety approval in Europe and the USA. Meanwhile, the Munich-based company will be joined by Christopher Delbrueck as its first CFO.
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Largest electric plane order for Bye Aerospace
OSM Aviation has awarded a huge order for commercial electric aircraft. The Norwegian company ordered 60 all-electric planes from the Colorado-based manufacturer Bye Aerospace to be used for training at its flight training centres.
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Harbour Air plans electrified seaplane
MagniX, a company specializing in electric aircraft propulsion, and North America’s largest seaplane carrier Harbour Air are cooperating to successively electrify all 42 of Harbour Air’s seaplanes. The 560 kW magni500 electric motor will be used.
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Airbus & Audi reveal electric air taxi CityAirbus
As part of the Urban Air Mobility project, Airbus has now presented the air taxi CityAirbus in the Audi town of Ingolstadt. The electric aircraft with eight rotors takes off and lands vertically and will be able to transport up to four passengers. The model still has its maiden flight ahead of it.
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Fraport & Volocopter set about air taxi infrastructure
Volocopter, and Fraport AG – the owner and manager of FRA, Germany’s biggest airport, intend to develop concepts for the ground infrastructure and the operation of electric aerial taxis at airports. The main focus will be on smooth passenger handling and efficient connections to existing traffic infrastructure.
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Boeing VTOL takes test flight as flying taxi
Boeing has absolved a successful test flight with a VTOL that they now call Passenger Air Vehicle (PAV). Boeing announced that the prototype has just completed a controlled takeoff, hover and landing during the test conducted in Manassas, Virginia.
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Boeing uses Japanese know-how for electric aircraft
Boeing will work with Japanese companies, universities and the government to develop technologies for next-generation lightweight electric aircraft. Partners include GS Yuasa for battery development and Sinfonia Technology and Tamagawa Seiki for the aeroplane’s engines.
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Bell Nexus VTOL to be new flying Uber taxi by 2020
US helicopter manufacturer Bell Helicopter presented a vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL) with hybrid-electric propulsion for five passengers at the CES 2019 under the name Bell Nexus. Bell has been cooperating with Uber for their planned flying cab since 2017.
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ACCEL: Rolls-Royce engineers aim to build faster e-aircraft
Engineers from Rolls-Royce and their partners have set themselves the goal of developing the world’s fastest electric aircraft as part of the ACCEL (Accelerating the Electrification of Flight) project. The model is expected to reach 480 km/hand take off for the first time in 2020.
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Researchers look at potential of hybrid aircraft
Researchers from the University of Illinois created a flight-performance simulator in order to model potential fuel savings for two hybrid systems for airplanes. The simulations include take off, climb, cruise, descent, and landing.
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Egan Airships floating all-round hybrid aircraft
This hybrid of a ship and an airplane Egan Airships presents also includes a few drone and helicopter elements. The result is a VTOL called Plimp, which can fly with helium, but also bears a hybrid drive.
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German rescue service ADAC testing VTOL
The German ADAC Luftrettung, that is the air rescue service, is planning to test manned electric multi-copters as rescue vehicles in two states in Germany, namely Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate. Volocopter’s electric VTOL will be used for the pilot.
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Flying taxi model by Audi & Airbus takes maiden flight
Airbus, Audi and their subsidiary Italdesign launched a model of their flying electric car Pop.Up Next. The concept is a hybrid of a drone and a cab that popped up in 2017 for the first time. In Amsterdam the team shows a working 1:4 model.
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Solar powered aircraft to stay airborne for months
Boeing spin-off Aurora Flight Sciences launches an autonomous lightweight airplane called Odysseus. Thanks to advanced solar cells that deliver 250 watts, the solar plane can fly “practically indefinitely” at high altitudes and will take off for the first time in spring 2019.
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UK: Work starts on world’s first electric race airplane (video)
The University of Nottingham and Air Race E have announced a collaboration to develop the first electric race aircraft. A prototype is in the making and will use an existing petrol-powered plane as base. The racing series will see pilots fly just above the ground at highest speeds from 2020.
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EasyJet to launch first electric aeroplane by 2019
Flying from London to Amsterdam with zero emission? You may not have to wait much longer, at least if the cooperation of EasyJet and Wright Electric continues to progress at lightning speed. The British airline aims to launch an electric aircraft next year.
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Volocopter plans Singapore test flights in 2019
The German aviation startup Volocopter is planning test flights in the centre of Singapore for the second half of 2019. The series of tests will focus on urban flight conditions and will validate the use of an electric aircraft in an urban environment. The next step will then be public demonstration flights.
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Air taxi Cora: Kitty Hawk teams up with Air New Zealand
Kitty Hawk subsidiary Zephyr Airworks has signed a cooperation agreement with Air New Zealand as both partners want to work on setting up an air taxi service with self-flying electric aircrafts. We remember: About half a year ago, Kitty Hawk unveiled its electrically powered autonomous air taxi Cora.
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Geely-backed Terrafugia accepting orders for flying car
Terrafugia is taking pre-orders for their hybrid plane that mixes two worlds in every sense. The Transition is said to switch from road to air operation in less than a minute and moves from partially electric driving to conventional flying.
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HES Energy Systems presents hydrogen aircraft concept
The Singaporean company HES Energy System has presented plans for a hydrogen-electric passenger plane named Element One. The plane will be capable of carrying four passengers on stretches from 500 km to 5,000 km. The first prototype is expected in 2025.
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UK: Air taxi firm to offer inter-city flights in eVTOL (video)
Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace is the latest contender in the race to launch flying cabs for urbanites. Their electric VTOL is to be fit to carry passengers on short, inter-city flights within the next four years and a first prototype underwent testing.
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Japan aims to take off with flying cars
The Japanese government is working on founding an industry consortium to realise electrified flying car technology. A total of 21 companies are said to be involved, including Uber, Airbus and Boeing.
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DLR and NASA laud e-airplane design from Munich
The German center for aerospace (DLR) has lauded the winners of the competition they organized in cooperation with NASA for design ideas regarding future flight technology. The winners were a team from the technical university in Munich.
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Finnish Pipistrel Alpha Electro takes off
After a small electric plane was tested by the Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel in Norway, it now took to the skies again in Finland for another test flight. This time the Pipistrel Alpha Electro took off from the Helsinki-Malmi airport.
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Terrafugia: First flying car to go in production in 2019
Terrafugia, a flying car developer owned by Geely, has announced that they will be ready to begin production on a two-seated VTOL named Transition with a hybrid system next year. Details to price and performance have not been released yet.
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Aston Martin & RR both envisioning luxurious air taxis
Aston Martin presents the Vision Volante Concept, a study of a premium VTOL with hybrid propulsion. Whether the three-seater will ever take-off on a mass scale is uncertain. Yet Aston is on to something as Rolls-Royce also issued their version of an air taxi.
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Norway: Hybrid aircraft by Equator on maiden flight
Equator Aircraft of Norway has launched a series of test flights using their hybrid aircraft P2 Xcursion. The plane is capable to take-off both on land and water with its low float wings.
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