Up close with the ALIA at the Paris Air Show & more (The Allplane Newsletter #127)
Advanced Air Mobility
Do you want to see the BETA Technologies CX300 ALIA from up close? Kyle Clark gave us a tour at the Paris Air Show, just ahead of this all-electric aircraft flying display. Watch it here.
Talking about BETA, Air New Zealand, which selected the CX300 ALIA for its Mission Next Gen program, announced, together with the US startup aircraft maker, the launch of an “energy by the hour” program to manage electric batteries. This could be an interesting business model for electric aircraft companies.
Btw, to learn more about Air New Zealand’s plans in this space, check my interview with its head of sustainability, Kiri Hannifin, at the recent IATA AGM.
Another eVTOL company that was represented at high level at the Paris Air Show is Archer. Here’s my interview with its CEO, Adam Goldstein.
Btw, I also spoke with Megha Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer at Embraer’s EVE. You can check what she told me here, plus some pictures from the eVTOL mock up display at the Paris Air Show.
Five countries (the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK) have agreed to work together on a joint eVTOL certification roadmap.
FlyNow has received an 100-aircraft order from the Mavi Air, a rotorcraft operator with bases in the UAE and Turkey. The contract could be worth $35M, an important endorsement for the Austrian eVTOL developer.
REGENT has successfully tested its demonstrator with foils deployed. The foils are a key element, because they make the ship/aircraft stand out of the water and move even when the surface of the sea is not totally flat.
The company’s founder, Billy Thalheimer explained how this works when he was on the podcast.
The head of Czech eVTOL Zuri dissect the Lilium debacle in a short video:
Electric Aviation
AURA AERO had a pretty solid Paris Air Show with lots of announcements, which are summarized in this article.
One of the partnerships announced by AURA AERO is with Munich-based Vaeridion, which announced its launch customer.
And VoltAero had a pretty remarkable Paris Air Show, showcasing the Cassio 330 final configuration and announcing its launch customer, HM Aerospace Sdn Bhd, a flight school based in Malaysia
I also met with Pipistrel’s CEO, Gabriel MAssey, to learn the latest about the Velis Electro and NUUVA programmes. Here is what he told me.
Dutch electric aircraft developer Elysian signed agreements with airlines KLM and Transavia, which will support the development of its future 100-seat airliner, and with Spanish aerostructures firm Aernova.
Hydrogen Aviation
ZeroAvia is boosting its Scottish presence. In addition to participating in the UK’s clean aviation testing programme in the far north of Scotland, the hydrogen propulsion company recently announced it was going to set up an industrial facility in Glasgow and it has also signed an agreement with Loganair, a prospective customer, on account of its regional aircraft needs.
Not everyone is convinced about ZeroAvia’s perspectives to fulfill its stated goals. Here is an (anonymous) comment that has appeared online.
Elysian Aircraft, KLM and Transavia, which we have mentioned in the previous section, also participate (together with a few other partners) in the HAPSS Project, which intends to test hydrogen-electric propulsion on a Dash8 Q300 aircraft. This project is being funded with €73M by the Dutch government.
Hydrogen fuel cell specialist H3 Dynamics has teamed up with Xsun, a French startup that makes solar-powered UAVs, to develop a long endurance unmanned aircraft that will have a hydrogen fuel cell, batteries and solar panels (on its wings). It will be able to stay airborne for 12 hours.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
Michael Liebreich, one of my favourite experts in sustainability matters, has written a very critical assessment of the RefuelEU initiative.
His point is basically that achieving the quota of synthetic SAF mandated by the EU will be incredibly inefficient, it will be costly and, what’s worse, divert renewable energy from other beneficial uses. He proposes a number of other measures instead. Read it here.
Other sustainable aviation stories
Governor Josh Stein, of North Carolina, told me why JetZero had selected his state to build its new futuristic airliner in what will be the largest job-creation project in the story of North Carolina.
TARMAC Aerosave has launched a line of decorative products called TARMAC Legacy made with upcycled materials taken from disassembled aircraft. You can also find my report of my visit to TARMAC’s main MRO site near the French Pyrenees.
And talking about upcycling: The latest episode of the Allplane Podcast features Lisa Conway, Chief Revenue Officer at Gen Phoenix, a firm that helps airlines save tons of fuel by turning scraps of leather into lightweight aircraft seat covers. Listen to it here.
What else in aviation?
The SkyTeam Alliance has turned 25.
ANA and Safran Seats unveiled a new business class seat designed ad-hoc for the Japanese carrier’s B787 Dreamliner fleet.
I went to the Basque Country to see ITP Aero’s ADMIRE center & the plant where big chunks of the Rolls-Royce Trent engines (and other engine types too!) are made.
Will Boeing build a 797? Interesting article revisiting the potential market interest for a New Midsize Aircraft (NMA).