Lilium has achieved the initial power-on procedure with the first full-scale example of its six-passenger eVTOL aircraft. Announcing the milestone on October 1, the German company said powering up the Lilium Jet’s systems is an important step toward the start of flight testing, which is anticipated in 2025.

Meanwhile, Lilium is also working with partners to prepare the ground infrastructure needed to support commercial operations. It recently launched a partnership with the Galaxy FBO group, which has facilities at three Houston-area airports.

Regent Craft is progressing with hardware and systems integration for the first full-scale prototype of its all-electric Viceroy seaglider, the company announced on October 1 during the UP Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas. The Rhode Island-based manufacturer expects to begin sea trials with humans on board later this year, with first flights to follow in early 2025.

Beta Technologies has released images showing some details of the passenger-carrying versions of its family of electric aircraft. The Vermont-based company said the cabin interiors, accommodating five passengers and a pilot, will be available for both the fixed-wing CX300 and Alia 250 VTOL models it has in development.

Pivotal has completed all deliveries of its Blackfly single-seat eVTOL aircraft, a pre-production prototype for its flagship Helix aircraft that it sold to 13 select customers under an exclusive early access program. According to Pivotal, more than 30 people have been trained to fly the Blackfly aircraft. Last week the company announced that the Blackfly fleet has now surpassed 1,000 piloted flights.

Toyota Motor Corporation has agreed to invest a further $500 million in eVTOL aircraft developer Joby Aviation. The funding, announced on October 2, will take the Japanese car maker’s total investment in Joby to $894 million and will be paid in two equal tranches later this year and then in 2025 as cash in return for common stock.

MD Aircraft is assembling an iron bird ground test rig for its 10-seat MDA1 electric airplane and aims to start using this to evaluate its design in early 2025. The company, which is a spinoff from German aviation engineering group MD Flugzeugbau, has said it aims to have a technology demonstrator flying by early 2027 as it works towards type certification and first deliveries by 2030.

Former senior Boeing executive Marc Allen has joined Electra Aero as its CEO at what he said is “a significant inflection point” as it prepares to accelerate work on its planned nine-passenger hybrid-electric, short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) aircraft. At its Virginia headquarters, the company is expected to reveal the full-scale design and its name at an event in November. 

The U.S. Army Applications Laboratory has awarded Lift Aircraft a $1.65 million contract to design a modular container that could be integrated with multiple air and ground vehicles to carry payloads such as medical supplies and wounded troops needing to be evacuated. The VTOL aircraft developer partnered with Near Earth Autonomy to develop a system that could operate autonomously in a variety of military applications.