Austrian company Cyclotech is planning to begin flight-testing an 80-kg (176-lb) demonstrator of its unique electric VTOL airframe, which uses Voith-Schneider propellers instead of rotors for exceptional agility and control in the air.
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The electric VTOL air taxis most likely to take off
Quiet, clean, electric air taxis floating over and between cities, bringing commuting into the third dimension and leaving traffic behind – it still sounds like a sci-fi fantasy, and these alien-looking aircraft look like nothing we've ever seen before. There are huge barriers to be overcome - technological, legal, safety and certification, among others, but there's massive money flowing in to make sure these beasts make it through into reality. Here's our eVTOL startups to watch.
Photo: assets.newatlas.com
British company Vertical Aerospace unveiled a new electric VTOL air taxi design, moving out of the realms of simple multicopters and into the efficient, complex, longer-range world of tilt-rotor aircraft.
We spoke to Lilium's Head of Communications, Oliver Walker-Jones, about the company's recent test flights, its next steps, eVTOL safety, infrastructure, the eventual Lilium service and how these air taxis will begin to infiltrate our daily lives.
Joby Aviation has been beavering away hammering out the designs and flight dynamics of its awesome-looking tilt-rotor eVTOL for more than 10 years. Now, Joby's got over half a billion dollars in the bank thanks to an investment round led by Toyota.
Once certified and put into commercial operation, Skai says its "point to any point" air taxi service could cost about the same per mile as a standard Uber.
Brazilian eVTOL innovator EmbraerX put forth a fun video showing how a multi-mode 3D transport system might work, with an eVTOL air taxi carrying a detachable glassed-over cabin that it delivers straight onto a self-driving car chassis.
Jaunt Air Mobility's ROSA gyrodyne is the first eVTOL we'd let our mums ride in.
The first manned flights of this hybrid-powered, 170 mph six-seater will take place in 2021-22, after which it'll be converted to run on hydrogen fuel cells.
A concept at this stage, the S-A1 is a four-passenger electric aircraft designed for short urban journeys made possible by helicopter-style vertical take-off and landing.
A California company says its new "turbo air-cooled" fuel cell design can deliver three times the power and four times the lifespan of a regular fuel cell, opening the door for high-speed, long-range, hydrogen-powered electric VTOL aircraft.
