Gen 4 Prototype Flies 156.7 Miles in Circular Pattern, Besting Joby by 3 km

Chinese manufacturer AutoFlight announced the completion of a long-distance test flight using the 4th generation of their eVTOL aircraft, the Prosperity I. accompanied by some footage of the flight. The flight was confirmed with the addition of ForeFlight and Stratus GPS, allowing them to maintain a continuous record of the track, speed, and altitude throughout the test. Ultimately, the prototype flew 250.64 km, about 3 km longer than the last eVTOL distance record set by Joby in 2021.

New Compliance Ready Option Unveiled for Drone Operators

Uncrewed aircraft manufacturer uAvionix unveiled another solution to FAA remote ID requirements, the pingRID. The unit is a compact, lightweight, easily affixed transmitter that provides a simple, effective method to meet Part 89 Remote ID standards. The pingRID comes pre-configured and ready to use out of the box, only requiring the assignment of a drone's aircraft identification number and a simple attachment before flight.

Things Looking Upbeat for British Launch Specialist

Virgin Galactic announced its financial results for its 4th quarter last year, showing a "strong" cash position of $980 million despite a net loss of $151 million. The news was no surprise, as many commercial launch providers are in similar financial positions - space launch is a nascent market, and the industry is still working out exactly how to maintain healthy profitability. Throughout the year of 2022, Virgin saw a net loss of $500 million, up from $353 million the year before. GAAP selling, general, and admin expenses similarly increased, hitting $175 million from $167M the year before. The overall adjusted EBITDA totaled $431M, compared to $245M in 2021.