There are more solutions than obstacles, Nicolas Zart
The U.S. FAA Updates EB 105A, Vertiport Design Guide
Rex Alexander covers the new U.S. Federal Aviation Agency’s (FAA) update Executive Brief (EB) 105A on eVTOL.news with a much-needed summary.
The highlights;
1) Classification: Vertiports will be a subclass of heliports
2) Marking: Broken Wheel and EASA “V” are out, and the traditional H is in. The letters “VTL” on the TLOF will designate it as a vertiport.
3) Geometry: “RD”, i.e., Rotor Diameter, will now be a subset of “D” where RD = the smallest circle enclosing just the propulsion units.
4) Parking: Parking positions using hover and/or air taxi ops to be no smaller than the FATO and be dynamic load-bearing.
5) Downwash and Outwash: Added a downwash/outwash caution area (DCA).
This is a must-read for anyone who wants to better understand what needs to happen for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) to operate safely.
€200 Million Injected Into Relaunching Lilium
The German saga never ends and at the eleventh hour, Lilium finds close to US$206,244.00 in today’s currency from Mobile Uplift Corporation GmbH to restart the company.
The Munich-based private equity firm General Capital agreed to buy Lilium’s operating assets in late December of 2024, including a fund managed by U.S. private equity group Fifth Wall and an unknown European financial investor. Other investors include; General Capital, Earlybird, CustomCells, and various Lilium’s creditors and shareholders.
To date, Lilium spent close to €1.5 billion building its first few prototypes for a flight test campaign originally scheduled in early 2025. That schedule has been pushed back by several months. Mobile Uplift believes €200-300 million should be enough to get Lilium back into operations.
Wisk Builds First Flying Generation 6 Prototype
Wisk Aero unveils the production-ready version of its sixth generation of eVTOLs. With a larger rear door than on the previous mockup. According to a picture on Aerospace Global News, an extra aperture towards the rear of the fuselage could be an access hatch. Luggage will go in the front of the aircraft.
We saw it fly at Oshkosh two years ago where the 12 electric propellers showed the aircraft landing in from of a crowd of spectators. We sat inside the Boeing-backed aircraft which seats 4. It is expected to reach speeds of 110-120kts with a ceiling of 2,500-4,000 feet and a 90-mile range including reserves. As you might be aware, Wisk aims for the aircraft to be autonomous. In its first stage of operations, it will be remotely piloted until it can be fully autonomous.
Beyond Aero Tackles the Electric Jet Frontier
You might remember the electric business jet, the Nimbus N1000 we mentioned a week ago. The French startup Beyond Aero is also tackling the electric business adventure but this time with gaseous hydrogen. The company raised a $20 million Series A funding round adding up to $44 million and plans its six- to eight-seat aircraft to enter service in 2030, according to AIN.
Expected to be certified under EASA’s CS-23, the jet will use the same propulsion the relatively mature hydrogen technology already in use on trucks, buses, and trains. The company is testing a 600-kilowatt propulsion system and hopes to reach megawatts soon after. The first jet will be a four-passenger aircraft able to cover 800 nm at 310 KTS – 575 km/h and a ceiling of 30,000 ft – 9,100 m. The company believes this answers the needs of 80% of business aviation has today. The company says it gathered 108 letters of intent so far and aims for a price point of $9 million to $10 million.
Stay tuned for more!
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