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HondaJet Echelon Takes Shape In Greensboro
The first specimen of the HondaJet Echelon (HA-480) that will be used in flight testing is now starting to take shape. For those who may not know, the HondaJet Echelon is the latest aircraft from HondaJet and moves on from their previous and sole iteration the HondaJet (HA-420). Over the years the HondaJet has been upgraded resulting in different names being attributed like the HondaJet ELITE, ELITE II ELITE S...
Major Ground Engine Tests Concluded On X-59
Ground engine tests have been completed by the X-59 demonstrator as recently announced by Lockheed Martin. They are running this project in cooperation with NASA Aeronautics and now that ground engine tests have been successfully completed it paves the way for the next steps in the program. In general the next major facets of testing will be the range of taxi tests which will encompass slow taxi ramping up to high-speed taxi runs as the precursor towards the actual first flight...
Embraer Commences Major Photo Voltaic Project
Embraer has broken ground on a large solar facility at its Melbourne, Florida campus. Embraer has been slowly moving many aspects of its operations to a more sustainable practice by utilizing energy-efficient and renewables for a portion of its power consumption. Additionally, the company has been increasing its adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)...
End Of Production For G650/ER
Gulfstream just announced that it is ending G650 production as the aircraft will be superseded by the forthcoming G800. The final G650, an ER variant rolled off the production line at the Savannah Hilton Head facility earlier this month. That aircraft is expected to be delivered to its customer later this year. It will now head to Appleton, Wisconsin facility for completion. The G650 was perhaps the first purpose-built business jet for true Ultra Long Range missions in this new era of big jets...
Sirius Now Stellar Jet; Opens HQ In The U.S
Swiss startup that was previously known as Sirius has now been rebranded. The same company is now known as Stellar Aviation and the aircraft they are working on is more of a hydrogen VTOL now called the Stellar Jet. They are still very early in their operations and developing the new craft. They have also registered and now have its headquarters located in Delaware in the United States. Although they are expected to still keep the Swiss location as a hub for global operations...
XB-1 Demonstrator Breaks Sound Barrier
Today, January 28th is the day that BOOM Supersonic with one of their XB-1 demonstrator aircraft officially broke the sound barrier. It is the first civil supersonic jet made in America. The XB-1 demonstrator that took part in the supersonic test flight was N990XB and was done with special permission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)...
Ascendance Atea eVTOL To Take Flight In 2025
Relative newcomer to the eVTOL space Ascendance Flight Technologies has been quietly working behind the scenes on their new craft. It is still early days but the company believes that it will fly its first full-scale prototype sometime this year. Lots of ground tests have been conducted so far with an 'iron bird' and technology demonstrators. The next task is to be able to scale up the industrialization to match the next swathes of the program needed to take it toward certification...
XB-1 Demonstrator Just Shy Of Supersonic On Latest Test
BOOM's XB-1 demonstrator in its most recent test flight nearly went pass the speed of sound. It flew from Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, CA on January 10th, 2025 flying to an altitude of 29,481-feet and reaching MACH 0.95. This 44 minute test flight was number 11 for the XB-1 demonstrator so far and the first flight for 2025...
HEAT Facility Online For Hermeus
Hermeus currently is working on testing demonstrators for supersonic and eventually hypersonic flight. They are at the stage of using their MK-1 Quarterhorse Demonstrator which is coming to the top end of its testing before they transition to MK-2 Quarterhorse to test the vehicle pass MACH 2. Powering the craft is the Pratt & Whitney F100 engine. Hermeus says that there is a shortage of hypersonic test facilities and those that are available are booked up solid so they started to build their own...
Push To Develop eVTOL Infrastructure
With a myriad of eVTOL programmes in the works and at varying stages of development and certification the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector has been pushing ahead. However, it has not been easy with financial issues plaguing some of the top entities in this segment. For example, in recent times JetForums has informed you about German eVTOL manufacturers Lilium and Volocopter all filing for insolvency protection in the last few months...
Piaggio Aerospace Finally Finds New Owner
Italian manufacturer Piaggio Aerospace has finally secured a buyer for the company after a few years of searching for an entity to take over the business. The Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy in Italy has approved the takeover by Turkish giant Baykar...
Flight Test Campaign Concludes For EcoPulse
EcoPulse, a distributed hybrid-electric propulsion demonstrator developed together between Airbus, Safran and Daher has completed its flight test campaign. Airbus announced the news in December 2024 which resulted in the delivery of crucial insights to meet the decarbonization goals for air transport by 2050...
Current State Of The Supersonic Race
At JF we continually follow news pertaining to the civil supersonic race. Over the last few years there have been a number of contenders that have been at varying stages of development of their respective supersonic craft. Not all have made it to current day in 2025. For example there was Aerion who were actively working on the AS2 supersonic aircraft but they exited the race in 2021 having fielded plans and actually broke ground for building a large superfactory in Melbourne, Florida. Currently, there are three notable names in the race, BOOM Supersonic with their XB-1 demonstrator currently in flight testing...
Volocopter Activates Insolvency Protection
In late October 2024, JF informed you about Lilium activating insolvency protection while it tried to raise more capital to stave off collapse of the company. This was the first German company within the eVTOL air mobility space to be in this position. Now there is news over the holidays of another German company that has resorted to insolvency protection. Volocopter is that second company and had filed for insolvency with the court in Karlsruhe on December 26, 2024 and announcing it on the 30th of December...
Ground Testing For Electric Propulsion Project Between MagniX; NASA Concludes
Electric flight is not only relegated to the slowly emerging eVTOL market but regular aircraft are being adapted for hybrid and full electric flight. MagniX is a company we have covered before and their prowess in the electric propulsion sphere is noted. Currently, they are working with NASA on its Magni650 electric propulsion unit (EPU)...
Uncertainty Looms For Service Entry Of eVTOLs
eVTOLs are still new to the aviation sector and besides pioneering and adapting current battery technologies and also being limited by it there are also many hurdles regarding regulatory, classification and infrastructural facets needed to be overcome. Additionally, many of the manufacturers are running out of cash to continually finance the development and certification of their respective aircraft...
EHang Deliveries Increase But No AOC For Customers
EHang's EH216-S autonomous 2 passenger eVTOL is been delivering at high rates since being certified in October 2023. In a financial briefing on November 18 the Chinese company suggested it delivered 63 units in the three months ending on September 30. This represented a 29% increase on output for the second quarter. This is good news however, no Air Operator Certificates have been granted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China for operations of these craft despite the surge in deliveries...
Eclipse Aero Testing Daedalean AI’s Visual Awareness System
Eclipse Aerospace has been out of the news reel for several years but they are back into the cycle with news relating to testing Daedalean AI’s visual awareness system for detect-and-avoid traffic deconfliction scenarios. An Eclipse Aerospace 550 Light jet is the test bed for the technology -as seen below-. There is no certification path as yet and the technology is still in its early days of testing. However, the plan is Daedalean is pursuing an FAA Part 23 supplemental type certificate (STC). That STC will be for the PilotEye visual traffic detection system in collaboration with Avidyne...
Lilium To Initiate Insolvency Protection
Lilium was one of the initial leaders in the eVTOL space and 'til this point has been at the forefront in bringing its eVTOL to market. The German company is on the cusp of having a full-scale prototype to be flying in 2025. However, the company is about to file for insolvency protection as it tries to cue-up further capital to continue its operations...
After 6 Months Rolls Royce Completes Pearl 10X Testing
The Rolls Royce Pearl 10X powerplant will power Dassault's forthcoming Falcon 10X flagship business jet. Rolls Royce recently said that it has now concluded testing on that powerplant after 6 months of rigourous testing. The Pearl 10X took to the skies for the first time back in early April, 2024 attached to a pylon on Roll Royce's 44 year old Boeing 747 test bed...
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