Lilium raised over $1.2 billion, flew hundreds of test flights, and still went insolvent in October 2024 - here's what that gap between prototype and certified aircraft means for aviation's electric future.
VectorBeta Technologies is building a fixed-wing eVTOL and an open charging network that may define commercial electric aviation's infrastructure layer before its competitors do.
VectorBoom Supersonic's Overture airliner and Symphony engine represent the most credible attempt at commercial supersonic travel since Concorde retired in 2003.
VectorThe Boeing X-37B has logged over 2,200 days in orbit across seven classified missions, landing itself on a runway - and its guidance systems foreshadow where civil aviation autopilots are headed.
VectorThe Pipistrel Velis Electro became the world's first type-certified electric aircraft in June 2020, offering 50-minute training endurance and dramatically lower operating costs than piston trainers.
VectorJetZero's $235M Air Force contract targets a 2027 first flight for a full-scale blended wing body demonstrator promising 50% lower fuel burn than conventional airliners.
VectorNatilus is building the N3.8, a 94,000-pound unmanned blended-wing-body freighter promising 25–50% fuel savings that could restructure cargo aviation economics.
VectorJetZero's Z-5 demonstrator, backed by a $235M Air Force contract, aims to validate a wing-body design that could cut narrowbody fuel burn by up to 50%.
VectorThe Roc - the world's largest aircraft by wingspan at 385 feet - is now America's mobile hypersonic test platform for critical Department of Defense programs.
VectorCFM International's RISE program is developing an open fan engine architecture targeting 20% better fuel efficiency than today's LEAP, with entry into service projected for the late 2030s.
VectorSolid-state batteries targeting 500 Wh/kg could double current electric aircraft energy density, potentially enabling true regional electric aviation by the early-to-mid 2030s.
VectorDARPA's CRANE program is building the X-65, a demonstrator jet designed to achieve full three-axis flight control with no external moving surfaces whatsoever.
VectorNASA's X-59 QueSST is a purpose-built scientific instrument designed to challenge the 53-year-old FAA regulation that has blocked commercial supersonic flight over the American interior.
VectorTextron Aviation and Merlin have unveiled an autonomous concept version of the Cessna SkyCourier that could fly military resupply missions without a pilot onboard.
TowerBoom Supersonic's XB-1 broke the sound barrier in 2024, making it the most credible attempt at commercial supersonic flight since Concorde retired in 2003.
VectorBoom Supersonic's XB-1 demonstrator broke Mach 1 without afterburner in October 2024, validating the aerodynamic models that underpin the planned Overture supersonic airliner.
VectorOn August 28, 2023, one ambiguous waypoint in a single flight plan triggered an unrecoverable failure in UK ATC software, cancelling 2,000+ flights and stranding 700,000 passengers.
TowerEve Air Mobility is building both an electric air taxi and the software platform to manage urban airspace - a dual strategy that sets it apart from every other eVTOL competitor.
VectorGarmin Autoland, FAA-certified in November 2020, lets an untrained passenger land a plane with a single button press when the pilot is incapacitated.
VectorHeart Aerospace's 2022 pivot from the ES19 to the 30-seat hybrid-electric ES30 reveals what honest engineering looks like in regional electric aviation.
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