Kerry Lynch

Rob Scholl, president and CEO of Textron eAviation, is leaving the segment to assume a new role as head of Textron Specialized Vehicles, an industrial business unit that manufactures golf cars, snowmobiles, and other utility vehicles. Textron has named long-time company executive Kriya Shortt to succeed Scholl as head of the eAviation division, effective August 31. 

Following extensive ground tests, Electra is preparing to start flight tests with a two-seat technology demonstrator for its planned nine-passenger, hybrid-electric eSTOL aircraft. The company believes that the aircraft will transform regional air services, mainly through its ability to operate from landing surfaces as small as about 300 feet. By 2025, it expects to start flight testing a full-scale prototype en route to type certification in 2028.

Lockheed Martin, working with NASA, has installed the tail section of the X-59 supersonic aircraft in preparation for first flight this year. The aircraft is being designed with new technologies that would emit a lower boom, described as a soft thud, to buffer the impacts of the shockwaves associated with supersonic flight.

The FAA's has published eagerly awaited standards on vertiport design that will provide infrastructure developers with important guidance on topics such as the recharging of electric aircraft. The U.S. aviation safety agency has advised that standards will need to evolve as more complete information on the performance of new eVTOL aircraft becomes available.

Asia stands to offer the biggest opportunities for advanced air mobility companies, according to Vertical Aerospace president Michael Cervenka, who urged industry and regulators in the U.S. and Europe to collaborate

Congressional leaders expect are eying a range of issues for the FAA reauthorization bill that will be in the works next year that includes "clear direction" for the FAA to make sure the proper resources are dedicated to the advanced air mobility industry.

FAA's shift of certification rules for advanced air mobility vehicles opened the door to other concerns, including operational and training requirements as well as international validations. However, the agency is working toward the release of a special federal aviation regulation by 2024.

Embraer is expanding its partnerships with BAE Systems under memoranda of understanding signed on Tuesday during the 2022 Farnborough International Airshow to explore defense and security applications for the Eve eVTOL.

Aviation training group CAE is developing a flight trainer to address the emerging needs of the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector, and it has partnered with Piper Aircraft to develop a supplemental type certificate (STC) for an electric powerplant conversion of the single-engine Piper PA-28-181 Archer light airplane, the companies announced Tuesday at the Farnborough Airshow.

Under the partnership announced on February 8, electric-propulsion specialist MagniX would collaborate with Desaer on an ATL-100H hybrid variant that would be powered by two magni350 electric-propulsion units and two turboprop engines. The aircraft is mainly intended to serve as a regional airliner in the same class as 19-seaters like the Dornier Do-228.