Florida plans to build air taxi pads using $200M intended for EV chargers

Florida wants to use federal EV charger funds to build an air taxi network connecting golf courses, luxury apartment buildings, and airports.

Electra to build $850M Ohio factory for EL9 hybrid-electric plane
Electra to build $850M Ohio factory for EL9 hybrid-electric plane

Electra is putting $850 million into its first aircraft factory, and it picked Springfield, Ohio to build the EL9 Ultra Short, its nine-passenger hybrid-electric plane that can take off in as little as 150 feet.
The plant will eventually build up to 80…

Anduril and Archer unveiled an autonomous attack rotorcraft built on air taxi technology. First flight is planned for 2027.
Anduril and Archer unveiled an autonomous attack rotorcraft built on air taxi technology. First flight is planned for 2027.

Anduril and Archer Aviation unveiled Thunder at the Farnborough International Airshow on Sunday, a Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft built on a jointly developed dual-use platform. The aircraft is designed to multiply the combat power of crewed atta…

Xpeng debuted its flying car in Germany. It has 7,000 orders and a factory that can build 10,000 a year.
Xpeng debuted its flying car in Germany. It has 7,000 orders and a factory that can build 10,000 a year.

Xpeng debuted the Land Aircraft Carrier at a launch event in Munich on Wednesday, the first time the Chinese automaker has shown its modular flying car outside Asia. The vehicle is a six-wheeled ground unit, called the Mothership, with a detachable two…

The first flights of the US air-taxi program carried organs, not passengers
The first flights of the US air-taxi program carried organs, not passengers

Beta Technologies has completed the first flights in the US government’s electric air-taxi pilot programme. The Amazon-backed company flew the debut missions of the scheme, CNBC reports. The flights did not carry passengers. Instead, they transported m…

Tesla in-cabin camera fails to prevent 60 mph naps as Wisk Aero faces lawsuit
Tesla in-cabin camera fails to prevent 60 mph naps as Wisk Aero faces lawsuit

On today’s surveillance-heavy episode of Quick Charge, it sure looks like Tesla’s in-cabin driver cam failed to stop one woman from falling asleep at the wheel, but safety and attention monitoring may not be the end game for that camera after all.

Lawsuit claims Boeing-backed Wisk rushed eVTOL software testing
Lawsuit claims Boeing-backed Wisk rushed eVTOL software testing

Boeing-backed eVTOL startup Wisk Aero is being sued by a former employee who claims they were fired for reporting that the software behind the autonomous air taxi service had failed to meet basic aviation software testing requirements.

Vertical Aerospace gets a second VX4 flying, doubling its test fleet on the road to certification
Vertical Aerospace gets a second VX4 flying, doubling its test fleet on the road to certification

Building an electric air taxi is less about one dramatic first flight than about doing it over and over until regulators are convinced. Vertical Aerospace has just put a second aircraft in the air to help it get there faster. The Bristol-based company …

What Makes eVTOL Motors Different Than EV Motors?
What Makes eVTOL Motors Different Than EV Motors?

Electric vehicles, whether they’re cars on the road or electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, are built around similar electric motors. But there are vital differences including component costs, mass, and redundancy.Jon Wagner spent …

Xpeng is actually building this electric flying car — I visited the factory
Xpeng is actually building this electric flying car — I visited the factory

Xpeng’s flying car division Aridge invited media to tour its massive new factory in Guangzhou, and it’s clear the Chinese automaker is pouring serious resources into making manned electric aircraft a commercial reality.

I saw about 20 aircraft at va…