AAM Manufacturer Now Planning Test Campaign to Come

Eve Air Mobility made waves at the Farnborough International Airshow as it displayed its very first full-scale eVTOL prototype, showing off the unit under construction at the Embraer test facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The prototype was accompanied by the nomination of another pair of suppliers, adding Diehl Aviation and ASE to the roster of Eve's companion companies working on the design. Diehl will design and develop the interior furnishings and cabin design, while ASE will get to work engineering the power distribution system, power converters, and interconnects to power Eve's electric flight. The companies put a cap on Eve's selection of 'primary suppliers' for the eVTOL in its production guise, as they move toward their comprehensive test campaign.

It's interesting that Eve has been so forthcoming on exactly who's providing what for their future aircraft. Their ties with Embraer S.A have given them a solid base to begin working from, but the firm has had no qualms about tapping in other service providers, engineers, developers, and designers to provide their expertise to the program. Earlier this year, the firm announced that it would draw upon Aciturri for much of the wing skins, spars, and control surfaces. They did that announcement in similar fashion to their recent news too, naming Crouzet as the pilot control supplier alongside Aciturri.

While it's extremely unlikely that Eve Air Mobility is the only eVTOL manufacturer drawing upon the expertise of such an array of outside experts, it's refreshing to see them so forthcoming about it in the public eye. Advance Air Mobility is in its infancy as an industry, and it's good to reinforce the idea that it's leaning heavily on the best and smartest the aerospace scene has to offer. To those in aviation that seems like a no-brainer, but the surge of tech entrepreneurship on the IT a side of the economy has made investors leery of anything that seems too glitzy and slick. Bay area dogma like "move fast and break things" belongs nowhere near aerospace innovation, at least in the traditional sense. Seeing shades of old-school, methodical, expert aerospace development is a comforting reminder that AAM is, at the end of the day, a matter of safety above all.

FMI: www.eveairmobility.com