Potentially footage of the @VerticalAero VX4 performing its first CTOL take-off and landing flight. The presence of a possible chase aircraft (?) is certainly interesting.

RT @FlightAcesHigh: NMH acquisition moves forward, as Leonardo Helicopters submits ‘best offer’ to UK MoD @DefenceHQ. Nice update from @fg_….

A new offering from @Robinson_Heli - meet the R88. 8 pax, two-blade main rotor, design for utility operations. $3.3m. Pretty.

Dear @British_Airways I appreciate flights get cancelled for reasons beyond your control but to abandon a plane-load of passengers at Arricefe at midnight with no help finding hotels is beyond dreadful. An entire swim team was left to sleep on the airport floor, for example.

Hearing that the final bits of paperwork relating to @Lilium acquisition might be done. Employees told at 'all wings' meeting today. Reassured on wages too.

Will continue to fly for around another year as it continues technology research. Battery in particular is the key item holding up programme launch as currentlyu it cannot manage mission of 4pax over 80-100km.

Any hope that @AirbusHeli would join the UAM fray with the launch of CityAirbus NextGen as a programme has been quashed by CEO @BrunoEven who says that key technologies are not ready yet. Test flights will continue following first flight last yr but then will be paused.

H175 also did well with 18 orders v 14 in 2023, but H160 was a bit underwhelming at just 4 v 26 in 2023.

After 2023's frenzy where 186 orders for the H145 were booked (Germany and France led the charge) last yr was calmer with just 114 orders. Elsewhere H125 improved from 108 to 155, as did H130 to 47 from 39 and H135 to 59 from 29.

Quick run-down of @AirbusHeli orders and devs for 2024: overall 455 gross orders v 410 in 2023; 361 devs (344) and 57% market share (54%). Big winner was Super Puma that went from zero orders in 23 to 58 including 38 for German federal police, Japan coastguard and Netherlands

Anyone watching the slow demise of @Lilium well, there may still be hope: hearing there is an all-hands meeting this morning which may herald the arrival of a Christmas miracle. #eVTOL

A visit to @CotswoldAirport to see @VerticalAero and the VX4 (with some bonus 747 action for @MaxK_J )

@SingaporeAir A close up of the peeling paint.

Although the #A350 paint issue has gone quiet, this @SingaporeAir example (9V-SMS) is looking pretty rough above the cockpit windows.

UK's @VerticalAero advances to untethered flight tests of latest VX4 prototype but pushes back cert until 2028; promises first upgrade in 2030 - seemingly taking capacity from 4 to 6 pax.

The ripples from Boeing’s 787 production troubles continue as @Leonardo_live mulls a carve-out of its struggling aerostructures business that makes centre fuse barrels for the 787.

At some point @LDO_Helicopters will get the AW609 over the line; next year seems the current best guess, although there have been many ‘next years’.

First flight for the CityAirbus NextGen - meets Airbus Helicopters’ most recent target for maiden sortie in 2025.

Because it's er. Merlin Monday, here's a little update on plans for the UK's @LDO_Helicopters AW101s to fly on until 2040.

Lucky doesn't even begin to describe the pilot in this Norwegian incident where a helicopter's skids became caught in powerlines: