A flying car made in Japan, which is also the world's smallest electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft recently conducted its first successful public demonstration in Tokyo.
The single-seat eVTOL is the "SkyDrive SD-03" developed by two-year-old startup SkyDrive, Inc., based in Shinjuku ku, Tokyo. It measures 2 meters in height by 4 meters in both width and length. The company intends to launch its flying car in Japan by 2023. Last week's flight was the first public demonstration of a flying car in Japan. It took place at the 10,000 square meter (2.5 acre) Toyota Test Field - which is the company's development base.
The demonstration flight saw SD-03 circle the field for about four minutes with a pilot at the controls. A computer-assisted control system helped ensure flight stability and safety.
SD-03 is designed as a coupe "embodying dreams and exuding charisma," according to the company. The aircraft's exterior is pearl white - chosen to represent white birds and the floating clouds in the sky of its users' future. SkyDrive hopes its aircraft will become the "people's partner in the sky" rather than merely a commodity like a car.
"We are extremely excited to have achieved Japan's first-ever manned flight of a flying car in the two years since we founded SkyDrive in 2018 with the goal of commercializing such aircraft," chief executive Tomohiro Fukuzawa said.
Fukuzawa said the company planned to take its "social experiment" to the next level in 2023 when it launches the aircraft in Japan. He said SkyDrive's aim was to realize a society where flying cars were an accessible, convenient, safe and secure means of transport.
Fukuzawa confirmed plans to sell SD-03 in other countries in collaboration with its partner companies - an urban air mobility society with SkyDrive aircraft may become an international reality.
Chief technology officer Nobuo Kishi said the manned demonstration flight was the culmination of SkyDrive's achievements for technical verification.
SkyDrive has completed its technical verification phase which began when it launched an unmanned outdoor flight test in December 2018. It has conducted several technical verifications since then. Manned flight tests began in December 2019 and were safely completed in March 2020. These tests confirmed the controllability and stability of the test aircraft.
