eVTOL

Just weeks after its first manned flight in the California desert, Joby Aviation has taken its S4 eVTOL air taxi out for a piloted demo flight in the Big Apple, demonstrating just how much quieter and less disruptive it'll be than a helicopter.

Pterodynamics has taken its unique and fascinating Transwing drone out for sea trials with the US Navy, demonstrating its ability to land autonomously on a moving target. Its dihedral folding wings give it exceptional range and cargo capacity.

What happens when something goes very wrong in an eVTOL aircraft? China's AeroHT has released video of its innovative low-altitude multi-parachute system turning a catastrophic propulsion system failure into a soft-ish landing from just 50 m (164 ft) up.

China's AeroHT is making rapid progress with its eVTOL flying cars, and it's now shown two fascinating new concepts – a six-wheel-drive hybrid-electric "aircraft carrier" van, and a new version of the flying supercar, with a fully concealed airframe.

The eVTOL air taxi Archer is pushing toward production has now lifted off for the first time. The handsome, five-seat Midnight aircraft is scheduled to enter service in 2025, providing clean, quiet, short-range, traffic-busting hops over urban areas.

Got a pilot's license? That and a fat bank account will let you take off vertically then soar horizontally with Lilium's sleek electric-powered craft, now on sale in the US market. The offering marks the first private availability of eVTOLs.

Way back at CES 2016, eHang stunned the world with a little autonomous passenger-carrying octacopter concept. Seven years later, that concept has evolved into the world's first fully certified eVTOL air taxi, cleared for commercial air taxi work.

After 15 years of development and prototype testing, CycloTech has presented its first concept aircraft. The CruiseUp is a unique-looking personal two-seat eVTOL air car designed for cross-town hops – and it'd probably stop better than any other eVTOL.

If we're going to reach the point of flying around our cities in eVTOLS then we're going to need infrastructure to support them. Contreras Earl Architecture has revealed plans for a new vertiport on the waterfront in Melbourne's Batman Park.

In a huge moment for the company – and the electric VTOL industry at large – Joby Aviation has officially started manned flight testing of its S4 eVTOL air taxi. Announcing the milestone with a video, Joby leads team USA in the race to certification.

Brett Adcock has co-founded two companies on the bleeding edges of innovation in emerging markets: Archer Aviation, in the world of eVTOL aircraft, and Figure, in humanoid robots. We look into his background, and the startup that launched it all.

Three years ago, California-based Jump Aero announced its plan to bring first responders to emergency sites via eVTOL aircraft. The company has now unveiled the design and specs of the vehicle, and already has a buyer lined up.