FlyingCars.report

UAE regulator visits Joby and Archer in California as the 2026 Gulf launch window narrows

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) visited Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation in California to review aircraft certification and airworthiness requirements, Khaleej Times reported on October 15. Both companies picked the Emirates for their first passenger service.

The delegation was led by Eng. Aqeel Al Zarooni, assistant director general for Aviation Safety Affairs. It included senior members of the authority's Flight Operations and Airworthiness teams. The authority held separate sessions and technical workshops with each company, covering certification, airworthiness and operational matters.

Where each company stands in the UAE

Joby signed a definitive agreement with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority in February 2024. It gives Joby exclusive rights to run air taxi services in the emirate for six years, and the commercial launch is targeted for 2026. Joby's UAE team has said passengers will be carried only once all safety and certification requirements are met, including an Air Operator Certificate from the GCAA, Khaleej Times reports.

Archer is partnered with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, and Abu Dhabi is its first planned launch market. On May 7, 2026, the GCAA moved Archer's Midnight into a Restricted Type Certificate (RTC) program. Archer describes the RTC as "an established pathway" to begin limited commercial operations, and says it was the first eVTOL maker to move onto that track with the GCAA. Midnight is planned to enter service with Abu Dhabi Aviation.

Khaleej Times says both companies have also completed piloted flights. Archer's longest covered about 55 miles in 31 minutes, and Joby's first lasted around 12 minutes over 10 nautical miles. In an earlier report, the GCAA said UAE air taxi certification would be completed in the third quarter of 2026. That quarter ended September 30.

The US side

Neither aircraft holds an FAA type certificate. In its Q2 2026 shareholder letter, Joby reported that, as of July 31, Stage 4 (Testing & Analysis) was 83% complete on its side and 77% accepted by the FAA. Stage 5 (Show & Verify) stood at 20% and 10%. Joby notes these percentages can fluctuate as documents are revised. In its Q2 results, Archer said Midnight flew a piloted Salinas–Monterey round trip in July ahead of US operations "later this year" under the FAA's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program.

Our take

A regulator visit isn't a certificate, but it shows both programmes are still in active review with the UAE authority. As of October 9, the RankedRobot tracker found that neither company had announced paid passenger service. Archer first said Abu Dhabi Aviation would deploy Midnight in 2025, before the target moved to 2026. With about 11 weeks left in the year, the things to watch are a GCAA type certificate or RTC actually being issued, and an Air Operator Certificate for the operator.

Sources

Tesla's next Roadster flies, flips and lands, but the flying version won't be street legal

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Tesla unveiled its redesigned, next-generation Roadster on Thursday, October 15, at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas. The car, built with Elon Musk's rocket company, used rocket-style thrusters to leave the ground, and Tesla says it will start production in 2028, according to Reuters.

What it actually did

The demonstration was short. The Verge reports that the event ran under 30 minutes. In that time the Roadster drove up a tall ramp, clinging to the surface with a fan-based suction system supplied by SpaceX, then flipped and came back down on cold-gas thrusters. It then flew over Tesla's lineup, including the Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, Semi and Cybercab.

Per The Verge, the car carries two ultra-high-pressure air tanks with a combined volume of 600 liters, holding about 250 kilograms of air, and uses 10 nozzles for its maneuvers. That means it is thrust from stored compressed air, not wings or rotors.

The Guardian reports Musk said the car was controlled remotely during the demo "to make sure we don't kill anyone." He also said: "I'm not sure it's necessarily legal in all jurisdictions."

Three versions, one that flies

After the event, Tesla's reservation page listed three versions, according to Reuters and The Verge:

Performance: two seats, $50,000 deposit.
Thrust: two seats with rear acceleration thrusters, $250,000 deposit, in "limited release."
Rocket: single seat with a "full flight system," invite-only. Tesla says it is "not approved for public road use."

No price was announced at the event. Nearly a decade ago Tesla quoted a $200,000 base price. Tesla engineering chief Lars Moravy said the car can reach 60 mph in under a second and top 230 mph, and Reuters reports a range of over 300 miles. That is less than half the range Musk promised in 2017, when he also said deliveries would begin in 2020.

How the flying-car industry reacted

Rivals took it as validation. XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng called it "a very cool, different kind of flying car" on Weibo, and added that nobody can skip flight certification, according to XPulse. Zhao Deli, founder of XPeng-affiliated Aridge, said that nobody believed Aridge's flying-car story before, and now that Musk has flown one, everyone does. Alef Aeronautics answered with its own video, flying its Model A over an old Roadster.

Our take

This is a ground vehicle that can hop, not an aircraft. No FAA approval was announced, and Tesla itself says the flying variant isn't road legal. For this tracker, the Roadster goes in as a prototype with a 2028 production target. That target comes from a program whose first delivery date, 2020, has already slipped by eight years. The milestones we'll watch for are deposits turning into delivery dates and any regulatory filing.

Sources

Alef flies its Model A over a Tesla Roadster and says first cars reach early buyers by year end

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The same day Tesla showed its thruster-equipped Roadster, Alef Aeronautics released a video of its own electric flying car flying over an older Tesla Roadster. Alef said the stunt was to "welcome it to the flying car race," Electrek reports.

"Welcome, Tesla, to the flying car race; we've been here alone for eleven years," CEO Jim Dukhovny said. He argued that competition proves the market and helps create a separate flying-car category for regulators and investors.

The 1,000th flight

According to Electrek, Alef has just completed its 1,000th logged flight, which happened to be the one over the Roadster. The two vehicles take different approaches. Alef uses distributed electric propulsion and a body that forms a wing, with a rotating cabin. Tesla's Roadster uses compressed-air thrusters. Alef says its vehicle is light enough to carry a full-vehicle ballistic parachute.

Alef revealed the full-size Model A in 2022, quoting a 220-mile driving range and a 110-mile flight range. Electrek notes that by 2023 the vehicle had received an FAA Special Airworthiness Certification. That is a permit for experimental flight, not a type certificate approving the design for general sale and use.

Where deliveries stand

Electrek's May 19 report said Alef began hand-building the first customer vehicles at its Silicon Valley facility in December. The plan hasn't changed since then:

The first batch is expected by the end of 2026, for a limited number of early buyers.
Alef says those vehicles are "for the purpose of testing flying cars in the real-world environment, under very controlled conditions."
Production is set to ramp in 2027, with Alef training early adopters.

Price and orders

The Model A is expected to start at $299,999. Buyers can pre-order with a $150 deposit or join a priority queue for $1,500. Alef claims more than 3,600 pre-orders worth $1 billion, up from the "over 3,500" it cited in May. In May, Alef also opened public investment through Wefunder.

Our take

Alef is the closest thing to a car-shaped flying car with a delivery date this year. But "delivery" here means a small, hand-built test batch under controlled conditions, not general sale. Pre-order counts are company-reported figures, backed by deposits as small as $150. With about 11 weeks left in 2026, the next milestone is simple: whether any customer actually takes delivery before December 31. We'll update the tracker when that happens or if the date moves.

Sources

FAA's eVTOL pilot program moves from one-off demos to "repeatable operations"

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The FAA's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) is moving "as fast or faster than expected," program director Tina Buelo told Aerospace America in an October 8 interview. The agency now wants something more than demos. "Now we want to move from having just one flight or series of flights to establishing some kind of regular schedule, or repeatable operations, to gather the data on that," Buelo said.

What has flown so far

According to Aerospace America, the first eIPP flight took place almost three months before the interview. Demonstrations have since been flown in Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia. Flights are planned next in Florida, New Mexico and the New York–New Jersey area.

Every flight so far has had a pilot on board and carried cargo or medical supplies. The exceptions were several by Elroy Air, whose Chaparral drone flew cargo autonomously in Louisiana. Buelo said routine cargo or passenger service for paying customers "remains a possibility later in the program," which is set to run for at least three years.

Who is flying

BETA Technologies says it was the first company to launch eIPP operations, flying its conventional-takeoff ALIA aircraft to carry manufactured organs with United Therapeutics, per its Q2 2026 results. Buelo pointed to a September BETA flight that brought medical supplies to Dare County Regional Airport in North Carolina, where people gathered to watch.
Joby Aviation flew a week-long campaign across Dallas–Fort Worth from September 10 to 14, under Texas DOT's Project Nexus. It flew between Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, DFW Airport's corporate aviation FBO, Arlington and Toyota's North American headquarters in Plano.
Archer Aviation says it plans to launch Midnight operations under the eIPP later this year.

Autonomy on the side

During the same tour, Joby flew J208, a Cessna Caravan fitted with its autonomy system, from Concord, California, to North Carolina's Outer Banks. The company announced on September 18 that the 3,199-mile trip had "zero control inputs" from the onboard safety pilot. That's a certified airframe with autonomy added, not an autonomous air taxi.

Our take

The eIPP is giving the industry real-world operating data, but the FAA has said it is not a way to bypass type certification. So none of these flights moves an aircraft closer to carrying the public by itself. The signal to watch is Buelo's "repeatable operations": scheduled routes flown week after week, and the first eIPP operation that carries a passenger.

Sources

PAL-V wins EASA production approval, and the Liberty flying car now eyes 2028

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Dutch flying-car maker PAL-V has received its European Production Organisation Approval (POA) under EASA rules, the company announced in September 2026. German trade outlet all-electronics.de dates the approval to September 7.

PAL-V says that, with the POA, it now holds both the automotive and the aviation production approvals it needs to build its vehicles on an industrial scale. It says it is the first company in the "FlyDrive" segment of advanced air mobility to receive this approval. On March 24, the Dutch vehicle authority RDW recognised PAL-V as a certified automotive manufacturer, all-electronics.de reports.

"Obtaining the POA is a major milestone for PAL-V," founder and CEO Robert Dingemanse said in the release. The company also cites a "No Technical Objection" from EASA in 2025.

What the Liberty is

The Liberty is a three-wheeled road vehicle that becomes a gyroplane. For flight, its rotor and propeller fold out, which takes about five minutes. PAL-V quotes a flight range of 400 to 500 km and up to 1,315 km on the road (per all-electronics.de).

Price, buyers and timing

Speaking to Dutch broadcaster NOS, as reported by DutchNews.nl, Dingemanse said:

"Now that EASA approval is in, we will really start producing the first cars soon." Those cars must then be tested again to show they meet all the guidelines, which "takes about a year and a half." DutchNews says this puts the Liberty in the skies in 2028.
The Liberty costs €299,000 to €499,000. The first 250 are already sold, and PAL-V has stopped taking orders because it can build only 100 a year.
About half the buyers are fire brigades, police forces and the military. PAL-V's own release says its reservations would fill the first three years of production.

The fine print

A POA approves the factory and its production system, not the aircraft design. all-electronics.de notes that the Liberty's EASA type certification is still not complete as of September 2026. PAL-V has a long record of slipping dates. Per DutchNews, its first commercial model was promised for 2021, then 2025, then 2026. Even when it arrives, it will fly under ordinary aviation rules. A Delft University professor told NOS it can take off and land at only around 20 small airstrips in the Netherlands.

Our take

This is real regulatory progress: PAL-V now has both automotive and aviation production approval in hand, and says no other FlyDrive company has the aviation one. But the tracker keeps the Liberty at certifying, with a 2028 target, until EASA issues the type certificate.

Sources

XPeng's Aridge: "We cannot deliver this year." Land Aircraft Carrier slips to 2027

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Aridge, the XPeng-affiliated flying-car maker, will not deliver its Land Aircraft Carrier this year. In an interview published on August 27, founder Zhao Deli said, "We cannot deliver this year." He said Aridge is at the critical stage of obtaining its airworthiness certificate and aims to deliver next year, according to XPulse's sourced Aridge timeline, which cites the Sina interview.

That's a change from April. On April 23, XPeng co-president Brian Gu told Reuters to expect early deliveries late in 2026, large-scale production in 2027 and more than 7,000 orders, per XPulse and TechRepublic.

What the Land Aircraft Carrier is

It's a two-part system. A six-wheeled road vehicle carries a detachable two-seat electric VTOL aircraft in its rear bay. Aridge said in September 2024 that the package would be priced under RMB 2 million (about $295,600), reports EV. TechRepublic, citing Electrek's factory visit, says the air module weighs about 700 kg and carries about 50 kWh of battery, with a reported flight range of about 30 km.

Certification so far

From XPulse's dated record and EV's report:

March 2024: China's CAAC accepted the type-certificate application for the aircraft.
May 2025: CAAC accepted the production-certificate application.
July 22, 2026: CAAC put Aridge on its first fast-track ("compliance enterprise") list for crewed eVTOL airworthiness, alongside EHang, Volant and AutoFlight. EV reports the list brings simplified procedures and priority processing. It is a process benefit, not a certificate.

Aridge has not announced a type certificate.

Production is running ahead of approval

The factory isn't waiting. Aridge began batch trial production on March 5, 2026, building five aircraft in one day. On August 10 it said it had built its 1,000th electric propulsion unit and put more than 200 aircraft into testing, according to XPulse. EV reports the Guangzhou plant has initial capacity of 5,000 units a year, rising to 10,000.

Abroad, two aircraft flew in formation in Abu Dhabi on September 17. Aridge also signed a regulatory sandbox agreement with Ras Al Khaimah on September 18, per XPulse.

A history of moving targets

XPulse's timeline shows the delivery date sliding before. At CES in January 2024, Aridge targeted mass production and deliveries from Q4 2025. Through 2025 the plan was deliveries in 2026. Now it's 2027. Zhao also said in September that flying taxis for ordinary people are at least five years away.

Our take

Aridge has something most rivals don't: a real factory and a serious order book. TechRepublic notes the 7,000-order figure comes without full preorder terms and "should be treated as a demand signal." The tracker now shows the Land Aircraft Carrier with no deliveries in 2026, 2027 target. We'll watch for a CAAC type certificate.

Sources

EHang pulls its 2026 revenue guidance as China turns cautious on low-altitude passenger flights

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT

EHang, maker of the pilotless two-seat EH216-S, has withdrawn its 2026 revenue guidance of RMB 600 million and isn't offering a replacement, the company said in its second-quarter results on August 25.

Why

CEO Huazhi Hu said a major accident in late June, involving a piloted light-sport aircraft in China, "prompted greater caution around low-altitude aviation safety regulation and affected the pace of passenger commercial operation approvals in certain regions." He called it "a temporary adjustment in industry pace, not a change in market demand."

CFO Conor Yang said recent industry incidents had created "near-term uncertainty around the timing of passenger commercial service approvals in China." EHang says it will give an updated outlook once regulatory visibility improves.

The numbers

From EHang's release, for the quarter ended June 30, 2026:

Deliveries: 36 eVTOLs (35 EH216-series and one VT35), up from 4 in Q1 2026 but down from 52 EH216s a year earlier.
Revenue: RMB 77.9 million (US$11.5 million), up 203.5% from Q1 and down 31.3% year on year.
Net loss: RMB 128.3 million (US$18.9 million).
Cash and investments: RMB 929.4 million (US$137.0 million).

Certified, but still in trial operation

The EH216-S holds the full set of Chinese approvals: a CAAC type certificate, production certificate and standard airworthiness certificate. Two operators, in Guangzhou and Hefei, hold Air Operator Certificates. EHang says routine trial operations at those two sites have run safely for 17 months. In Guangzhou, its first point-to-point test route has entered internal trial operation, a step beyond single-site sightseeing loops.

EHang is also pushing abroad. It says it is under a regulatory sandbox in Thailand, with the goal of a commercial operation certificate within 2026, and has been selected for Hong Kong's low-altitude sandbox. It is launching a "Global Fast Track Program," with Sri Lanka as the first market. The company says the EH216 series has flown in 23 countries, with nearly 100,000 flight missions.

Our take

EHang shows that even a full certificate isn't the finish line. The aircraft is approved, but scaled paid passenger service still depends on regulators' appetite after an accident elsewhere in the sector. Since the RankedRobot guide counts the EH216-S as the only passenger-carrying eVTOL with a full type certificate, its pace sets expectations for everyone else. We're listing EHang's withdrawn guidance in our slipped timelines.

Sources

Archer agrees to buy Boeing's Wisk, bringing an autonomous air taxi under its roof

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Archer Aviation announced a deal on August 10 to acquire Wisk Aero, Insitu and SkyGrid from Boeing, alongside its second-quarter 2026 results. As part of the transaction, Boeing is set to take a strategic stake in Archer and become a strategic partner, with an ongoing technology-sharing arrangement. Archer says the deal is still subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

"With the planned acquisitions of Wisk, Insitu, and SkyGrid from Boeing, coupled with our recent unveiling of Halo, ZEE, and ACES, we are rapidly advancing our diversified, multi-platform strategy across air taxis, UAS and AI," founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said.

What Archer is buying

Wisk develops the Gen 6, an all-electric, autonomous four-seat air taxi overseen by a ground-based operator rather than an onboard pilot. In May 2026, Wisk flew its second Gen 6 aircraft at Hollister, California. Its first Gen 6 began flight testing in mid-December 2025. Wisk's Texas DOT partner was selected for the FAA's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program.
Insitu makes uncrewed aircraft. Archer says it alone will add over $200 million in annual revenue, with operations in 35 countries.
SkyGrid works on airspace intelligence. Archer frames all three as part of an "end-to-end physical AI platform."

Midnight's quarter

Archer also reported that in July, its piloted Midnight flew a round trip between Salinas Municipal Airport and Monterey Regional Airport. Each leg took about nine minutes, compared with over 35 minutes by car. Archer called it a step toward launching Midnight operations under the eIPP "later this year." The company also unveiled Halo and Thunder, the commercial and defense variants of a hybrid VTOL platform built with Anduril. And it announced ZEE, an AI foundation model built for aviation.

The financials

For Q2 2026, Archer reported revenue of $5.0 million, mostly from its Hawthorne Airport operations in Los Angeles. It posted a net loss of $263.2 million and ended the quarter with $1,560.6 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. It guided to a Q3 adjusted EBITDA loss of $170 million to $200 million.

Our take

The deal puts Boeing's autonomous air-taxi program under the same roof as Archer's piloted Midnight and its hybrid Halo, spreading Archer's bets across all three approaches. But it doesn't change either aircraft's certification status. Midnight still has no type certificate, and Wisk's Gen 6 is in early flight testing. We'll update the tracker when the transaction closes.