Set aside the courtroom drama for a moment. The part of the Advanced Air Mobility industry that’s actually building things — certifying propulsion systems, rolling out new prototypes, deploying aircraft for emergency response, and pivoting legacy helicopter companies toward autonomy — is moving faster than the headlines suggest. Here’s a clear-eyed look at what happened in the past two weeks and what it means.
Electra has been named the premier private company participant in the U.S. Department of Transportation and FAA’s inaugural eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. With 2,200 pre-orders worth nearly $10 billion and a hybrid-electric aircraft that takes off and lands in 150 feet, Electra is making a compelling case that advanced air mobility doesn’t need airports — it just needs the right aircraft.
On March 11, 2026, Joby Aviation crossed one of the most significant thresholds in eVTOL history: its first FAA-conforming aircraft took flight at Marina, California, officially entering Stage 5 — the final phase of FAA Type Certification. This is not a prototype. This is the production-intent aircraft that FAA pilots will evaluate before Joby is cleared to carry paying passengers. The finish line is now visible.
Japan’s SkyDrive has secured agreement with the JCAB on its General Certification Plan for the SD-05 eVTOL, marking one of the most significant milestones yet on the road to type certification and a planned 2028 commercial launch in Japan and the U.S.
Japan’s leading eVTOL manufacturer just completed its first-ever public flights over Tokyo — testing everything from biometric check-in to compact rooftop vertiport operations. Now SkyDrive is bringing that momentum to Atlanta, where a major U.S. partnership announcement is set for March 9 at Verticon 2026. We’ve been watching SkyDrive for almost a decade.
Joby books its first Uber passengers. Germany’s ERC System takes Romeo into the sky. EASA rewrites the rulebook for air taxi pilots. And a UK battery startup just hit a milestone that matters for every eVTOL on the drawing board. Your week in electric air mobility, February 27, 2026.
For a decade, the AAM industry has been obsessed with the “what”—the aircraft. But as we enter 2026, the bottleneck isn’t the wingspan; it’s the infrastructure. In this strategic briefing, I detail why I’m pivoting from communications to business intelligence to solve the “Infrastructure Trap.”
From Volocopter’s push into light sport eVTOLs to Horizon’s updated Cavorite X7 and Ohio’s bold eIPP medical transport proposal, advanced air mobility is shifting into practical service. These three stories reveal how regulators, designers, and states are turning new aircraft into real tools for healthcare and regional connectivity.
Electra.aero strengthens its intellectual property with new U.S. patents protecting hybrid-electric blown-lift technology for ultra-short takeoff and landing aircraft. The patents cover flight path control, pilot displays, and battery safety systems critical for commercial certification. Full details inside.
The aviation infrastructure landscape is evolving from single-purpose vertiports to multiports that combine eVTOLs, electric short takeoff and landing aircraft, conventional planes, and ground transportation. This integration solves the financial viability challenge that has plagued standalone vertiport concepts.