SkyDrive eVTOL gains an extra passenger seat and 50% range bump
By Paul Ridden
June 20, 2023
Last year, Tokyo-based SkyDrive announced plans to launch an eVTOL taxi service at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Now the company is at the Paris Air Show to reveal design and specs changes and a production deal.
Originally, the company's SD-05 air taxi would only be able to accommodate one passenger and a pilot, but now the newly named SkyDrive eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) has grown to 13 x 13 x 3 m (43 x 43 x 10 ft) dimensions and added another passenger seat to "enable a more profitable operation and a more convenient and enjoyable experience."
The battery electric flyer is now expected to have a maximum takeoff weight of around 1,400 kg (3,100 lb) and will still operate using 12 motor/prop units. The top air speed remains unchanged at 100 km/h (62 mph), but the per-charge range has increased to 15 km (9.3 miles) for point-to-point inner city hops or short sightseeing tours.
The revised SkyDrive eVTOL is expected to have a per-charge flight range of 15 km
One of the eVTOL world's oddest ducks has announced a milestone of sorts. Alef's Model A is a US$300,000 electric car that's ... kinda street legal, but also capable of a very unique form of flight. The company has announced limited FAA certification.
We took our first look at this bonkers idea back in October last year, but effectively, what you're looking at is a very unique take on the old flying car concept.
In road mode, there's no way this thing would pass automotive-grade crash tests and the like – nor does Alef want to go through that process. So they've designed it to meet US "low speed vehicle" regulations, which will allow it to potter about on certain streets at speeds up to about 25 mph (40 km/h). Effectively, it'll fall into the same category as a golf cart.
The first production prototype has rolled off Joby Aviation's production line in Marina, California, and the FAA has cleared it to begin flight tests with a special airworthiness certificate. It's likely to be the first eVTOL delivered to a customer.
With upwards of US$2 billion in funding, more than a decade's worth of development and an impressive number of high-speed, long-distance, full-transition test flights behind it, Joby remains the leader in the race to commercial electric air taxi services.
Its S4 aircraft is a five-seat beauty that can take off and land vertically using six large propellers distributed along its wings and V-tail. It then transitions to efficient cruise flight by tilting all its props forward, and can fly more than 150 miles (240 km) at speeds over 200 mph (322 km/h).
Vastly quieter than helicopters, eVTOLs are also projected to be much cheaper as well as having zero emissions. It's hoped that once they're in full commercial service, they'll democratize vertical commuting, being produced in large numbers and offering a fast, cheap way to get across town and between towns over the top of traffic.
The Federal Aviation Administration has certified for testing a vehicle that a California startup describes as a flying car — the first fully electric vehicle that can both fly and travel on roads to receive US government approval.
Alef Automotive said that its vehicle/aircraft, dubbed the “Model A,” is the first flying vehicle that is drivable on public roads and able to park like a normal car. It also has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. It apparently will be able to carry one or two occupants and will have a road-range of 200 miles and a flying range of 110 miles.
The company expects to sell the vehicle for $300,000 each with the first delivery by projected for the end of 2025.
The FAA confirmed that it has issued the company a special airworthiness certificate, allowing for limited purposes that include exhibition, research and development.
When most folk think about flying cars, we think of machines that seamlessly convert from street to air mode, that can take off and land vertically, and that can cruise in the air and on the highway. The US$789,000 Aska A5 promises to do it all.
The ambition wrapped up in this project is breathtaking. It's not an easily-registered three-wheeler, it's a four-seat car the size of an SUV, capable of traveling at highway speeds. It'll look completely ridiculous doing so, but it's capable.
Not only does it convert to an eVTOL aircraft automagically, at the touch of a button, it's a transitioning eVTOL aircraft with tilt-capable propellers and wide wings for cruising, offering a crazy 250-mile (400-km) flight range at speeds up to 150 mph (240 km/h), thanks to a range-extended hybrid powertrain. Oh, and it glides so well as a winged aircraft that you can take off and land on a runway – even a short runway – if you've got one handy.
ANAN, Tokushima -- The prototype of a 'flying car' intended to allow for a seamless transition from ground to air travel successfully levitated on its first manned test run on Aug. 9 in this west Japan city.
Assistant professor Kenji Yamanaka of Tokushima University, who is working on the development of the flying car, rode and controlled the test vehicle, lifting it 30 centimeters off the ground. It remained in the air for six seconds.
"We were able to demonstrate that it lifts off the ground with a person onboard. That's a major step forward," Yamanaka enthu
Got a pilot's license? That and a cool ten mil will let you take off vertically then soar horizontally through the sky with Lilium's sleek electric-powered craft, which is now on sale in the US market. It represents the first time eVTOLs have been offered commercially.
Electric take off and landing vehicles (eVTOL), which are kind of like passenger drones, are coming on strong in the commercial sector. In 2021, UK-based Halo ordered 200 of the machines made by Eve, a spin-off from Brazilian aerospace conglomerate, Embraer. As of 2023, there were 2,770 backorders for Eve vehicles, bearing a total value of US $8.3 billion, according to Valor International.
Earlier this year, Tokyo-based SkyDrive announced a production deal with Suzuki to begin manufacturing its two-passenger eVTOL in early 2024. And just days ago, the Joby S4, equipped with 16 propellers, received clearance to begin work as a commercial air taxi in China.
eVTOL Company Tests Ballistic Multi-Parachute Safety Mechanism
The parachutes appear to have prevented a nasty crash landing from just 50 meters.
By Adrianna Nine October 30, 2023 https://www.extremetech.com/aerospace/e ... -mechanism
Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles may be gaining momentum, but they can only succeed long-term as a transportation option if passengers feel safe enough to ride them. To that end, some eVTOL companies are researching ways to implement last-ditch safety mechanisms. The Guangdong-based AeroHT shared Tuesday that its experimental ballistic multi-parachute system had successfully softened an eVTOL’s fall from just 50 meters.
The altitudes at which eVTOLs fly make it tricky to implement parachute-based safety measures. While SAE International sets the maximum commercial eVTOL flight altitude at 500 feet, the aircraft’s purpose—to offer zero-emissions, zero-traffic transportation across relatively short distances—requires that it often buzzes around at even lower altitudes. The lower an aircraft is, the less time it has to deploy emergency systems and “catch” the resistance required for a parachute to be effective. As a result, many are skeptical of eVTOL manufacturers’ claims that parachutes will improve passenger safety.
