Airborne-NextGen 08.19.25: Starship 10!, Chaparral VTOL, Wisk-Signature AAM

Also: Solar-Powered Flight, Flytrex Approved, Electra Shows Off, Galileo HDX SpaceX’s Starship is getting prepared to launch on Sunday August 24, with the launch window opening at 6:30 pm CDT. SpaceX has completed its investigations into the ninth flight test that ended with the loss of Starship as well as the Ship 36 static fire anomaly. Elroy Air, a San Francisco, California-based developer of autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL cargo aircraft announced it successfully accomplished transition flight, with its Chaparral aircraft performing vertical takeoff and then transforming to wing-borne horizontal flight three times since the end of July. The aircraft performed the transition flights autonomously and reached forward speeds of up to 70 mph. Boeing subsidiary Wisk Aero is partnering with Signature Aviation, a private aviation terminal provider, to make advanced air mobility (AAM) a reality. The Memorandum of Understanding outlines plans to proactively develop the necessary infrastructure for autonomous eVTOL operations. All this — and MORE in today’s episode of Airborne-NextGen!!!