Author Announcements
EAS 2026, NexAvian Leadership Dialogue x Albatross.Ai; and DreamFly Aerotech.
A few announcements from your author —
First, if you haven’t already, it’s time to grab your tickets to EAS 2026!
The 20th Annual Electric Aircraft Symposium (EAS) takes place in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on July 18–19 — and early bird pricing is still available.
The symposium is organized by the good folks at the Federal City Chapter of the Vertical Flight Society, with support from more good folks at Germany’s AERO Friedrichshafen and the Vertical Flight Society headquarters.
Since its launch in 2007, EAS has served as the world’s longest-running conference on electric aviation, bringing together industry, research, and government participants to discuss developments in electric flight and advanced air mobility.
For more information and media inquiries, please contact Ken —
Ken Swartz, Co-Producer
info@eas2026.org
kennethswartz@me.com
+1 416-836-7094
www.eas2026.org
APAC AAM Shifts From Hype to Groundwork — Insights from the NexAvian Leadership Dialogue x Albatross.Ai Open House
Second — I am pleased to share one of my latest articles, "APAC AAM Shifts From Hype to Groundwork" in Aviation Week (May 28), which covers the NexAvian Leadership Dialogue x Albatross.Ai Open House, held last month in Shanghai.
It was great to connect with the organizers – Tianjin-based autonomous flight developer Albatross.Ai, including co-founder Sabrina Li and founder & CEO Dr. Martin Ding and Singapore/Canada-based AAM consultancy group NexAvian led by CEO Emerson Xu.
My article also includes insight from the following dialogue participants — Skyports Infrastructure, Aerofugia, Dreamfly Aerotech, and TransFuture Aviation.
Separately, I would like to thank the organizers for inviting me to speak at the forum. In my remarks, I offered a media perspective on Western reporting practices.
I also discussed global market entry in the context of geopolitics, export rules, and other issues, such as data sharing and protection – using my home country Canada as an example.
Other topics discussed at the forum included — international trust earned through operational performance rather than announcements; certification as a milestone, with safe operations as ongoing proof; the need for decade-long infrastructure patience; early B2B/B2G wins in medical logistics and cargo; and a shift toward independent safety frameworks such as Dr. Ding’s "3CM" model (Conflict Management, Conformance Monitoring, and Contingency Management).
DreamFly Bets On Hybrid, Cargo-First eVTOL Path
Yesterday, Aviation Week published my article on DreamFly Aerotech.
DreamFly Bets On Hybrid, Cargo-First eVTOL Path (May 29) features an interview with VP of Strategy Li Ming, who described the company's advancements while sharing details of its two platforms — the DF3000 "Youlong" (six seats, 1,000 km hybrid range) and the DF600 "Jinghong" (cargo variant, 2026 certification target).
I covered DreamFly last month in an Aviation Week article, entitled China's Hydrogen Aviation Pilot Launches As Milestones Mount.
And I have covered DreamFly at China eVTOL News.
DreamFly’s liquid hydrogen verification flight was also covered in my LinkedIn post on China’s hydrogen development.
I got hate mail.
My favourite part is when the hate mail comes with its own confident — but completely wrong — calculations.
(Also — if you don’t get hate mail covering China’s aviation sector, are you even a reporter?)
As the kids say - the math ain’t mathing.
Specifically — a recurring error in critiques of DreamFly's hydrogen demonstration has been confusing power (kW) with energy (kWh) – akin to flight school basics, confusing endurance with range.
Critic 1 (Sanchez)
He assumed a 120 kWh battery based solely on a 120 kW power rating.
The actual battery is 10 kWh – a high‑power, low‑energy configuration typical of hybrid architectures where the battery handles transient loads (takeoff, climb, landing) while hydrogen provides sustained cruise energy.
A 120 kWh battery would weigh over 600 kg – which is inconsistent with the DF600’s actual configuration and the test flight video.
Sanchez’s claim that hydrogen would charge “nearly a 1/4” of his assumed 120 kWh pack implies only 30 kWh – yet the usable hydrogen energy is 35 kWh, which is 3.5 times the actual 10 kWh battery.
The correct ratio (3.5) is 14 times larger than his implied fraction (0.25).
Critic 2 (Cozon):
He misread a 30‑liter liquid hydrogen tank as 30 kg, then dismissed the resulting 35 kWh hydrogen contribution as “really nothing.”
Liquid hydrogen density at 20 K is 70.8 g/L, so 30 L = 2.12 kg H₂.
At 33.3 kWh/kg LHV and 50% fuel cell efficiency: 2.12 kg × 33.3 kWh/kg × 0.5 = ~35 kWh usable.
In the DF600’s hybrid architecture, that 35 kWh is 3.5 times the battery’s 10 kWh. Removing hydrogen would cut total onboard electrical energy by 78% (from 45 kWh to 10 kWh), severely limiting endurance.
If the tank were actually 30 kg (as Cozon insisted), it would require 424 L of liquid volume – again, this is inconsistent with the DF600’s actual configuration and the test flight video. A 30‑kg hydrogen system belongs on a much larger aircraft.
Pointing out a critic’s mistake is not about defending any nation’s capabilities – it is about reading specifications correctly and understanding hybrid system design.
My reporting stands.
Meanwhile, bias will always lead to incorrect analysis.
One must go beyond headlines and examine the entire ecosystem – supply chains, test flights, certification roadmaps, verifiable data, and more.
Knee‑jerk reactions help no one.
Lastly, I was recently interviewed by the Financial Times regarding Beijing’s new drone regulatory framework — one primary regulation complemented by three supporting administrative rules. Publication date to be confirmed.
My position is straightforward — strict controls in a national capital are standard practice and should come as no surprise. The regulations do not have a detrimental impact on industry development or operational innovation.
On the contrary — it is a great time to be an aviation lover in China.
And yes, that includes the OEMs I’ll be catching up with next month for Aviation Week.
Stay curious, keep watching the skies — and thank you for supporting independent news.
—Jennifer