Electric flight is knocking at the door of every aerospace industry. But contrary to land-bound electric vehicles (EV), electric aircraft come in more shapes and forms. Electric air mobility is already getting off the ground, and much more is coming together right now as I write this.
There isn’t a week that goes by without an electric aviation news release. Air giants Boeing & AJAX are making sure they don’t miss the headlines as they work together.
Air mobility is the topic of the day at the Farnborough International Airshow. Rolls-Royce is there too, showing what it has in mind for an air taxi concept using today’s technology.
The future of electric aviation seems so far off and yet so very close that I think the only possible similarity would be to compare it to the electric vehicle (EV) rebirth of 2008. But just as back then, how many get the importance of electric aviation and its most urgent breakthroughs?
About three months ago, we reported that Airbus was moving ahead with its electric aircraft project called Vahana. The company announced more good news after the procedural test flight a few weeks ago.
Much has been written about Elon Musk’s use of the scientific method and first principles thinking. Oftentimes, Musk is pigeon-holed as a hyper-logical, robotic decision maker. Not true. It’s a misperception that doesn’t align with Musk’s real-world experience at his companies, SpaceX and Tesla. In contrast, Elon Musk displays a boldly wild imagination and high tolerance for risk.
Boeing HorizonX Ventures, which was established just last April, will be investing into the next-gen aerospace battery startup Cuberg.
True electric airplanes are far and few between, but last year saw an explosion of two- to four-seat electric airplanes (e-planes) taking off. And they are getting bigger and adding more range, thanks in part to two key airline industry players.
A prototype of a new unmanned and electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) cargo air vehicle (CAV) design has just been shown off by Boeing — with the idea being for the new prototype to serve as a test vehicle for the company’s autonomous operation tech.
Boeing’s Aurora Project demonstrates how an autonomous helicopter can fly on its own and hints at the tremendous potential it has to offer the military.
