AIN Media Group’s FutureFlight.aero site is merging with our main AINonline.com news platform. In AIN’s new FutureFlight section, readers will find all the latest news about the cutting-edge technologies and business models that are redefining aviation, and subscribers will continue to receive FutureFlight’s dedicated weekly newsletter.

In the five years since AIN launched FutureFlight, the scope of our news coverage has expanded exponentially. Technologies such as electric propulsion and automated flight controls are proving to be game-changers along with eVTOL aircraft in the advanced air mobility sector. They now have much wider relevance across the aerospace industry as it addresses the critical challenge and opportunity to decarbonize air transport.

The FutureFlight section of AINonline.com will continue to tell the story of the most significant advancements in the aviation industry since the dawn of the jet age. Our coverage will reflect the ever-stronger connection between advanced air mobility pioneers and mainstream business aviation companies, as well as the transformation taking place in the wider air transport sector.

Last week at the Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo, Textron eAviation showed off its first Pipistrel Velis Electro to receive an FAA exemption from light sport aircraft (LSA) regulations. The exemption came March 4 and permits the electric-powered, two-seat airplane to be operated under LSA regulations in the U.S.

Australian advanced air mobility group Skyportz is launching a subsidiary to operate electric and hybrid-electric aircraft. The new Wilbur Air operation this week announced its intention to acquire up to 100 of Electra’s nine-passenger eSTOL aircraft, and it will fly these on routes using Skyportz’s planned network of vertiports in several Australian cities.

A pair of air taxi operators have agreed to add Electron Aerospace’s planned four-passenger electric aircraft to their fleets. Germany’s Air2E and U.S.-based Hopscotch Air this week signed memoranda of understanding covering an unspecified number of Electron 5 aircraft and a payment schedule, taking the Dutch manufacturer’s prospective order backlog to nearly €200 million ($217 million).

The U.S. Air Force’s Afwerx innovation unit has awarded VerdeGo Aero a $1.24 million contract for the development and testing of a hybrid-electric propulsion system that could power military aircraft. Under the Phase 2 SBIR contract, the Air Force aims to test VerdeGo’s VH-4T-RD turbine hybrid powerplant in experimental uncrewed aircraft, including eVTOL models. VerdeGo says it has already built its first prototype of the powertrain and intends to begin testing the 380-kilowatt system in May. The company expects the subsequent production version of the VH-4T to have a greater power output of 415 kilowatts.

Flight automation developer Merlin has built its own simulator as a test bench for the technology it is working to introduce on both civil and military aircraft. The company this week announced that it has started using the Certification System Bench for development work at its Boston headquarters. According to Merlin, the simulator—built from certifiable software and hardware—allows it to keep testing its Merlin Pilot without interruptions during adverse weather conditions or when aircraft are grounded for maintenance.

The government of the state of Victoria has made an undisclosed investment in Australian start-up Dovetail Electric Aviation to support its plans to bring electric regional aircraft to market. The company announced on April 12 that it has relocated its headquarters from New South Wales to Victoria, where it now has bases in Melbourne and at Latrobe Regional Airport.

After several years of being somewhat regarded as upstarts on the fringes of the industry, advanced air mobility (AAM) pioneers are preparing to take center stage at one of the world's biggest business aviation trade shows in May. The annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Geneva will feature an enlarged Innovation Zone, and eVTOL aircraft developers and other AAM ecosystem stakeholders will be prominent speakers in the daily conference program.

Hien Aero Technologies, a Japanese company developing a hybrid eVTOL aircraft for cargo and passenger transport, has begun flight testing with its Dr-One V2 technology demonstrator. Following the successful hover tests of the Dr-One V1 proof-of-concept multicopter in June 2023, Hien created a fixed-wing version of the aircraft, which it says will have a range of 180 kilometers and a 20-kilogram payload capacity. A new video shows the V2 vehicle hovering for about a minute at a local airport while facing winds of 8 to 10 knots, according to Hien. The company aims to have the cargo freighter in service by 2025, followed by a passenger-carrying variant with six seats in 2030.