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TECNAM UNVEILS P2012 STOL

Last month Tecnam unveiled a short take-off and landing (STOL) variant of its twin-engine P2012 Traveller. The P2012 STOL has a 16.6-meter (54.5-foot) wingspan, 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) wider than the standard P2012 and swaps the Traveller's Lycoming TEO-540-C1As for Continental GTSIO-520-S engines.

Autonomous concepts aiming to drive superiority for tomorrow's war fighter

As the battlefield of tomorrow becomes increasingly complex, BAE Systems' work in developing early lifecycle Uncrewed Aerial Systems capability could play a key role in maintaining critical advantage.

GENERAL ATOMICS DEVELOPING HYBRID-ELECTRIC ENGINE FOR STEALTHY 'MQ-NEXT' DRONE DESIGN

"We believe that GA is going to pioneer a completely new way to propel airborne air breathing vehicles," said Mike Atwood, the firm's senior director of advanced programmes.

MAIDEN FLIGHT OF THE ELEKTRA TRAINER

On 29 June 2022, a two-seater electric ultralight aircraft Elektra Trainer from Elektra Solar GmbH (a spin-off of the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics) took off for its maiden flight at Memmingen International AirportElectric flying in Germany is becoming a reality step by step.

US AIR FORCE TO START NEW EXPERIMENTS WITH BOEING'S MQ-28 GHOST BAT DRONE

The US Air Force is set to begin flight experiments with Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat, a combat drone developed for the Australian air force that may help its American counterpart learn how to operate unmanned aircraft alongside fighter jets.

ZEPHATALI WALSH MAKES HISTORY AS WINNER OF THE WORLD'S FIRST FLYING CAR RACE

A landmark moment in both the history of motorsport and the genesis of the flying car mobility revolution has been made in the salt flats of South Australia. Airspeeder pilot Zephatali Walsh beat fellow-competitor Fabio Tischler in a tense and close inaugural EXA remotely piloted race. This was the first time two pilots were given full license to race their 4.1m long eVTOL race-craft blade-to-blade in a fully competitive race setting.

Picture of the month.

JOBY DESIGNED FOR DAILY LIFE

FLOATING, FOILING AND FLYING: HOW DOES REGENT'S ELECTRIC SEAGLIDER WORK?

It has been a busy time for progress in electric aviation, with several new aircraft and vehicles taking to the skies for test flights across the world recently, including a new type of vehicle that will transport passengers just a few feet above the surface of the water.

PLANS FOR 30-SEAT ELECTRIC REGIONAL AIRLINER

In 2020 the Swedish start-up revealed its 19-seat ES-19. However, Heart Aerospace has now unveiled a design for its 30-seat ES-30 electric regional airliner. During a 15 September event at Heart's Gothenburg headquarters, Air Canada and Swedish aerospace and defence group Saab each committed to investing $5 million in the venture.

WISK UNVEILS GENERATION SIX eVTOL AIR TAXI PROTOTYPE

The four-passenger, all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is the first candidate for FAA certification for autonomous, passenger-carrying air taxi, the company said.

S-PLANE TO CONVERT MWARI TO OPTIONALLY PILOTED AIRCRAFT

South African Paramount Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with S-Plane Automation that will integrate its optionally piloted vehicle solution onto Paramount's Mwari aircraft.

M3 SYSTEMS, PIPISTREL, VOLOCOPTER COMPLETE DECONFLICTION TESTS

M3 Systems, air traffic (ATM) and management unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operator, light and electric aircraft manufacturer, Pipistrel and Volocopter, a pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), have completed their first joint flight test campaign in France at Pontoise airfield.

FIRST FLIGHT FOR STUDENT-BUILT ELECTRIC SLING

The four-seater was developed and assembled by 20 students at ETH Zurich over two years at Innovation Park in Dübendorf, Switzerland, as part of their studies towards their bachelor's degrees.

MARS ROVER EXPLORES ANCIENT MARTIAN RIVER DELTA

NASA's Perseverance rover is a car-sized, six-wheeled rover designed to explore the Jezero Crater in Mars's Syrtis Major quadrangle. The crater measures approximately 28-miles in diameter and is thought to have once been flooded with liquid water in which life may have existed. In some Slavic languages, the term 'Jezero' man's lake.

SOUTH AFRICAN FIRST FOR SANBS DRONE DELIVERY

A three year-long initiative by the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) came full swing with the issuing of a remote operator's certificate (ROC) by the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), believed to be the first medical delivery drone license in the country.

DRONE BOOTLEGGING ON THE RISE IN THE US

The notion that a society's essence manifests most purely in its vices and criminals finds compelling expression in Bryant LeRay Henderson, who was arrested and charged with multiple felonies after allegedly flying a drone into a federal prison for purpose of delivering drugs and electronic devices to inmates.

BYE AEROSPACE's eFLYER 2 MAKES PROGRESS TOWARD FAA APPROVAL

Bye Aerospace first flew its initial prototype of the eFlyer 2 in April 2018 and since then it has been working through several iterations of the aerodynamic design, powerplant, battery system and other components that will go into the eventual production version of the all-electric, two-seat aircraft.

EVIATION ALICE ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT

Eviation Aircraft is aiming to complete type certification and service entry for its Alice fixed-wing electrically powered aircraft by 2026. The company intends to certify Alice under the US Federal Aviation Administration's Part 23 rules.

AERODELFT STUDENTS BUILD HYDROGEN PLANE

A team of students at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has successfully flown the first prototype of its Phoenix hydrogen-powered aircraft. The AeroDelft student team aims to promote the use of liquid hydrogen as an alternative to conventional aviation fuels by developing two hydrogenpowered aircraft: the remotely piloted Phoenix Prototype and the two-seat Phoenix full scale, which the team revealed with a taxi run during the annual AeroDelft summer event at Breda International Airport in the Netherlands.

URBAN AIR MOBILITY: A FUTURE ALTERNATIVE TO CURRENT PUBLIC TRANSPORT?

In past decades traffic congestion in cities has commonly been increasing, considerably impacting the quality of urban life both from an environmental perspective and on citizen's mental health. Today's measures set by cities aim to dissuade people from using their cars due to increasing road taxes, parking fees, and congestion, but rarely offer alternative means of transportation.

CEO SHOWS THE AIR ONE PERSONAL eVTOL FOR GA PILOTS

The CEO and co-founder of Air wants to help create an entirely new form of air transportation for General Aviation pilots. To that end, Air is in the midst of developing Air One, a personal electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft with a base price of $150,000.

AMERICAN AIRLINES TO ACQUIRE BOOM SUPERSONIC JETS

In a move that speaks to the increasing popularity of legalised gambling, American Airlines, the world's largest passenger air-carrier has entered an agreement to purchase up to twenty of Boom Technology's Overture supersonic airliners. The deal, which contains options for an additional forty aircraft, follows United Airlines' 2021 commitment to purchase 15 Overtures of its own.

HARBOUR AIR COMPLETES 72KM ELECTRIC SEAPLANE FLIGHT

With Harbour Air recently conducting a safe first round trip with its ePlane test aircraft, here are some facts about Harbour Air, the ePlane and the historical moment.

JOBY AVIATION EXPANDS DOD AFFILIATION

California-based and Toyota-backed Joby Aviation, the builder of Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles, is expanding its existing contract with the US Air Force's Agility Prime programme, an initiative the service launched in 2020 to experiment, test and generally hasten the development of eVTOL for cross commercial and military use.

UNITED AIRLINES INVESTS ANOTHER US$15 MILLION IN ELECTRIC FLYING TAXI MARKET WITH EVE

On 8 September United Airlines announced a $15 million investment in Eve Air Mobility and a conditional purchase agreement for 200 four-seat electric aircraft plus 200 options, expecting the first deliveries as early as 2026.

RUSSIA UNVEILS MOCK-UP OF ITS FUTURE SPACE STATION

Russian companies Energia Rocket and Space Corporation are currently developing a draft design of the Russian Orbital Station (ROSS) which is expected to be launched in two stages, the country's space agency said without giving exact dates. The first stage would see a four-module space station start operating in the low earth's orbit. That would later be followed by two additional modules and a service platform.

ANA GROUP DRONES TO FLY MEDICAL AND DAILY SUPPLIES TO REMOTE REGIONS AROUND THE WORLD

To assist rural communities access basic commodities, ANA is operating a drone delivery service to provide vital infrastructure. Connecting people is ANA Group's mission, no matter what form it takes.

CAN JETPACKS REPLACE HELICOPTERS TO SAVE PEOPLE'S LIVES?

There was a time when jetpacks were part of science fiction. However, thanks to technological advances, jetpacks, devices with back-mounted engines, and handheld controls, have become a reality.

TAWAZUN INVESTS IN HYDROGEN AIRCRAFT PROJECT

The UAE's Strategic Development Fund (SDF), the investment arm of Tawazun Economic Council has invested into the development of a hydrogen-powered aviation programme.

THE FIGHT AGAINST POACHING IN AFRICA UTILISING DRONES

Drones are no longer restricted to military and government-related operations. What was a $4.4 billion industry in 2018 is expected to exceed $60 billion by 2025 as drone technology experiences a boom in innovation and there's a rise in the number of people using them for recreation.