Vertical Aerospace has begun test flights with its second full-scale prototype of the VX4 eVTOL aircraft. On July 26, the UK company reported that the aircraft made a tethered flight just a few feet off the ground at Kemble Airport in the west of England.

Dutch regional aircraft developer Maeve is collaborating with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada on the design of its M80 hybrid-electric, 80-seater regional aircraft, the partners said on July 24. With a range of up to 1,200 nm, the design aims to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to 40% relative to regional jet competitors while cruising at comparable speeds and altitudes.

For decades, the team at TE Connectivity (TE) has been helping design safe and efficient electrical power management systems for everything from military planes to moon landers. Now TE is supporting a new frontier: the emerging Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) industry.

Honeywell and Frequentis recently conducted a flight test to demonstrate how eVTOL aircraft could operate with a ground control station. In June, the partners flew a T-Drones VA25 drone at Amstetten in Austria, with the operation managed by Honeywell’s new ground control station from its research and development facility in Brno, Czech Republic.

GKN Aerospace will use Vaeridion’s all-electric, nine-passenger regional airliner as a testbed for developing new electrical wiring interconnection systems technology. The company announced the collaboration on July 25, along with a similar partnership with electric propulsion system developer H55.

ADevelopers of electric, hybrid, and hydrogen-powered aircraft are grappling with the fact that new eco-friendly designs cannot deliver the same range, payload, and performance as their traditional gas-guzzling counterparts. To address this conundrum, TT Electronics has introduced a suite of custom high-voltage DC power conversion solutions that the UK-based company says will enable more efficient, longer-duration flights.

UK airline start-up Ecojet plans to include Arc Aerosystems’ Linx P9 hybrid-electric compound helicopter in its fleet. Under a letter of intent announced during the Farnborough Airshow last week, the new carrier provisionally committed to buying 20 of the nine-passenger rotorcraft, as well as signing for 30 more under options.

Lyte Aviation has selected H3 Dynamics to provide the hydrogen-electric fuel cell propulsion system for its planned 40-seat VTOL aircraft. Announcing the agreement on July 24, the companies said they will also work together to install H3 Dynamics’ self-contained electrolyzer systems at airports where Lyte expects its Skybus LA-44 to operate.

Dovetail Electric Aviation is to provide battery packs for the five-passenger Integrity eVTOL aircraft being developed by Crisalion Mobility. The companies announced their partnership on July 26, with Dovetail tasked with integrating batteries compliant with aviation safety standards with Crisalion’s FlyFree propulsion system.

EHang has been stepping up demonstration flights with its autonomous EH216-S eVTOL aircraft during a recent event in Taiyuan, China. The demonstration saw a pair of the two-seat vehicles taking off together to mark the start of deliveries to Xishan Tourism, which has placed orders for 50 of the all-electric aircraft.