Volocopter wrapped up the first phase of what it calls operational validation testing for its two-seat eVTOL aircraft with a flight on August 11 in the grounds of France’s historic Versailles palace. Soon after dawn on the last day of the Paris Summer Olympic Games, the German company’s 2X technology demonstrator took off just in front of Versailles’ Grand Trianon structure and its picturesque gardens.

As the two U.S. frontrunners in the race to launch eVTOL air taxi services navigate the rest of a year that both hope will lead to type certification and the start of deliveries, Archer and Joby released results this week that suggest they should have sufficient financial runway for commercial takeoff. At face value, Joby is the stronger of the Californian contenders with a cash and equivalents war chest valued at almost $858 million, compared with Archer’s reported $360 million tally. 

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.

Archer Aviation has revealed the planned vertiport locations for its air taxi network in the Greater Los Angeles area, where the eVTOL developer intends to launch commercial operations in 2026—in time to offer passenger flights at the 2027 NFL Super Bowl and the 2028 Summer Olympics that will take place in LA. The San Jose-based company is coordinating with the Los Angeles Rams to explore potential exclusive vertiport locations near SoFi stadium and Woodland Hills, where the NFL football team has its practice facility.

Two-thirds of 4,000 adults surveyed by eVTOL aircraft developer Lilium said they are very concerned by the impact of air travel on air pollution and climate change. The German company released the survey results on August 7, claiming these supported the case for electric aircraft like the six-passenger Lilium Jet model it aims to bring to market in 2026.

Advanced air mobility ground infrastructure venture Skyportz has reached a trio of agreements calling for the development of more than 1,000 new vertipads for eVTOL aircraft operations. The Australian company announced on August 9 that it signed deals with an undisclosed aircraft manufacturer and a couple of infrastructure investors.

Surf Air Mobility has expanded its role in supporting the introduction of electric and hybrid-electric aircraft on regional air services, with the launch on August 13 of its new Surf Air Technologies subsidiary. The new venture will collaborate with data analytics and artificial intelligence specialist Palantir Technologies to develop a suite of software tools for operators and manufacturers of the new aircraft.

Autonomous flight start-up Merlin and its partner Sierra Nevada Corp. have completed the first three test flights for a U.S. Air Force program that aims to automate the KC-135 Stratotanker. The USAF issued Merlin and SNC a temporary military flight release on July 22. Their first three KC-135 flights took place at the Pittsburgh Air National Guard Base in Pennsylvania, home of the 171st Air Refueling Wing.