Known as the EL-2 Goldfinch, the two-seat “blown lift” demonstrator is actually classified as a hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft. It utilizes eight electric propellers (four on each side) to blow air over its wings, greatly increasing lift and thus reducing the length of runways required for take-offs and landings. Such short runways could be located at small urban “pocket airports” in big cities, between which commuter eSTOLs could make short flights.
The propellers’ motors are powered by batteries that can either be charged before flight and then used on their own (for pure electric flight), or charged on the go by a small onboard turbogenerator (for hybrid flight). Thanks to this setup, the Goldfinch is reportedly much quieter and produces far less emissions than conventional fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters.

A $26 million commitment from Pratt & Whitney, the Federal Aviation Administration’s ASCENT Program, the U.S. Department of Energy-National Technology Lab and Penn State will expand the START Lab. The expansion will allow Prof. Karen Thole and her collaborators to evaluate smaller turbines relevant to hybrid electric propulsion. Thole leads a NASA funded University Leadership Initiative partnering with Howard University, Georgia Tech, Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace to study hybrid electric propulsion…

MightyFly has been awarded a U.S. Air Force innovation contract to develop its autonomous loading and unloading system. The company, an innovative leader in autonomous hybrid eVTOL cargo aircraft, has recently been awarded a lucrative Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract worth $1.25 million by AFWERX.

AFWERX is a United States Air Force program with the goal of fostering a culture of innovation within the service.

That is the view of Tom Grundy, the chief executive of Hybrid Air Vehicles, who have just conducted a feasibility study to see how the Airlander – a hybrid aircraft – could deliver cost-effective, green passenger transport and freight to the Highlands and Islands…

Hybrid-electric aircraft developer Dufour Aerospace is aiming its proposed vertical take-off and landing vehicle at pre-existing helicopter markets, hoping to leave competitors behind with a fast and efficient cruise stage. “In many use cases today, you use a helicopter because of its vertical take-off and landing capacity and not because it is a brilliantly efficient cruise flyer,” chief commercial officer Sascha Hardegger tells FlightGlobal on 31 October.
The Swiss start-up seeks to combine both of those attributes with its Aero3 VTOL, and for the aircraft to separate itself “wherever there is a cruise segment – and that’s the majority of helicopter operations”, Hardegger says. “Between hospitals, that typically involves vertical take-off and landing, but it also involves long segments of flight where you really just cruise so you don’t need hover capabilities”…

The EcoPulse hybrid power technology demonstrator is due to begin flights with the electric propulsion system operating by mid-November at the latest. The fixed-wing EcoPulse demo aircraft, which uses the Daher TBM 900 as its platform, has been flying with inactive wing-mounted electric thrusters installed since earlier this year, following baseline trials last year with just the PT6 turboprop.
Two of the 50-kW electric power units were fitted in March, with two more added in April. A full complement of six electric motors was flown in time for the aircraft to appear at the Paris Air Show in June.

GKN Aerospace has signed an agreement with Pratt & Whitney Canada to collaborate on the development of the High Voltage High Power EWIS for the RTX hybrid-electric flight demonstrator project

Fully electric aircraft won’t be able to compete with today’s helicopters on performance anytime soon, but hybrid-electric rotorcraft could offer gains in both performance and safety.

Under the guidance of Pipistrel’s Vertical Solutions, a consortium of eight partners in the European Union, MAHEPA, have concluded a project designed to advance alternative propulsion and regional air transport.