[Auto]SkyDrive performs first public manned flight in Japan

[SougarLord]

It was the first public demonstration of a flying car in Japan. The flight took place at the 10,000-square-meter (approximately 2.5-acre) Toyota Test Field, which is one of the largest test fields in Japan and houses the company's development base.

 

The SD-03 car took off in the early afternoon and circled the field for about four minutes. A pilot was at the controls, but a computer-aided control system helped ensure flight stability and safety, while technical personnel in the field monitored flight conditions and aircraft performance at all times as a backup.

 

The aircraft has been designed to be the world's smallest electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) model as a new means of transportation for the near future. It measures a compact two meters high by four meters wide and four meters long and requires only as much floor space as two parked cars. The powertrain consists of electric motors that drive rotors deployed at four locations, with each location housing two rotors that rotate individually in opposite directions, each driven by its own motor. The use of eight engines is a means of ensuring safety in emergency situations during flight and as such is intended to address compliance standards and allay potential regulatory concerns.

 

The key word that guided the design of the aircraft was "progressive", befitting a new mode of transportation. Viewed from the side, the fuselage has a slim and elegant appearance with the rotor housings extending in curves that maintain the visual unity of the aircraft's design and emphasize its aerodynamic qualities. With the eye-catching SkyDrive emblem installed at the front, the visual design of the SD-03 expresses the dynamism of a pair of propellers soaring into the sky of the future, working together. The aircraft has two white lights in the front and one red light around the lower body and these are unique characteristics of flying cars, designed so that observers can tell which way the vehicle is heading when it is hovering in the air. . heaven.

 

SkyDrive's flying car has been designed to be a coupe that embodies dreams and exudes charisma, so that it is welcomed into people's lives and used naturally. The main exterior color of the SD-03 is Pearl White, which was chosen to represent the white birds and floating clouds in the sky of the future of users. The company hopes its aircraft will become the partner of the people in the sky rather than a mere commodity and will continue to work to design a safe sky for the future as a partner in the sky.

 

 

SkyDrive will continue to conduct test flights under an ever-increasing range of conditions to further improve its technologies and achieve full compliance with the safety provisions of the Civil Aeronautics Act. To do this, based on the results of the SD-03 tests, it aims to obtain approval for flights outside the limits of the Toyota Test Field before the end of 2020.

 

Tomohiro Fukuzawa, CEO stated: "We are very excited to have achieved the first manned flight of a flying car in Japan in the two years since we founded SkyDrive in 2018 with the goal of commercializing such aircraft. Our goal is to take our social experiment to the next level in 2023 and to that end, we will accelerate our technological development and our business development. We want to realize a society where flying cars are an accessible and convenient means of transportation in the skies and people can experience a new way of life that is safe and secure. We also aspire to develop markets around the world, in collaboration with our partner companies, so that an urban air mobility partnership with aircraft supplied by SkyDrive becomes a reality not only in Japan but also around the world. "

 

Nobuo KISHI, CTO said: "The manned flight we have achieved this time is the culmination of SkyDrive's achievements for technical verification. We have been working on the design of electric propulsion systems, flight control systems, structures of aircraft, testing, manufacturing and introduction of monitoring equipment for aircraft conditions during flight tests step by step, and with a considerable sense of speed. We will continue to develop technologies and acquire type certification so that services can be launched Safe Flying Vehicle Operation in Fiscal Year 2023 ".

 

Takumi Yamamot, Design Director said: "When designing a new unexplored genre of transportation known as the flying car, we chose the keyword 'progressive' as inspiration. We wanted this vehicle to be futuristic, charismatic and desirable for all future customers, incorporating at the same time the high technology of SkyDrive. We believe that this vehicle will play an active role as your traveling companion, a compact coupe that flies through the sky. As pioneers of a new genre, we would like to continue to design the vehicles with which everyone world dreams ".