GROUND-BREAKING plans for flying car-chopper-plane hybrid taxis to ferry passengers between cities have been unveiled.
It comes as China successfully completed the world’s first inter-city test flight of an electric air taxi in its quest to revolutionise travel.
9
9
9
9
The demonstration, organised by AutoFlight, was carried out between the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai, on February 27.
The aircraft took to the sky unmanned, flying a route which would have taken three hours by car in just 20 minutes.
AutoFlight is a Shanghai-based eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) maker.
The ‘omnicopter’, dubbed Prosperity, took off from the Shekou Cruise Homeport platform at 5:00pm.
read more world news
It ascended to an altitude of 97 metres and soared towards its destination.
Within minutes, it disappeared from the sight of gob-smacked spectators.
Throughout the flight helicopters flew beside and filmed the aircraft’s manoeuvres – putting on a spectacular display.
After the short flight the aircraft successfully landed at Zhuhai Jiuzhou Port.
Most read in Tech
It marked an important milestone towards a future where its developers hope will soon be viewed as an ordinary mode of transport.
The event was a joint effort between eVTOL companies, air traffic companies, government management departments, airspace management departments etc and successfully realised the integration of eVTOL technology.
Often referred to as the “Sky Taxi” or “Aerial Taxi,” the eVTOL operates without the need for traditional airports and runways.
Flying hovercraft
It uses eight propellers mounted on booms that extend from its wings and two pusher propellers.
Similar to helicopters, it can vertically take off and transition to fixed-wing flight mode for high-speed cruising in the air.
It is an all-electric, environmentally friendly, quiet, and comfortable mode of transportation.
Passengers would be able to conveniently book a ride through a phone app, enabling fast travel within cities and intercity journeys.
Autoflight is also developing a cargo variant of Prosperity called CarryAll, which has a payload capacity of 400kg and a firefighting version.
The company said it has more than 900 pre-orders across all three of its aircraft models.
Tian Yu, founder, CEO and co-chairman of AutoFlight, said: “We are thrilled to showcase AutoFlight’s cutting-edge capabilities today in the world’s first cross-sea and inter-city eVTOL demonstration flight.”
He added: “Working closely together with the local authorities and partners here, and in other jurisdictions around the world, we will continue to drive this revolution to bring safe, efficient, sustainable and affordable eVTOL flight options to cities around the world.”
Prosperity has a maximum range of 155 miles 250 kilometres (250 kilometres), a maximum cruise speed of 125 miles (200 kilometres) per hour, and can carry up to five people.
Compared to helicopters, eVTOL has advantages such as high safety, low passenger costs, low maintenance costs, lower noise, and modern computers.
It has become an important segment in the future urban air transportation industry and a sought-after industrial highland globally.
It comes as flying taxis will no longer be a faraway concept but a reality in a holiday hotspot much loved by Brits.
A Californian company has signed a deal with Dubai which could see tourists ferried across the UAE city by flying taxi from next year.
The luxury means of travel will involve paying passengers booking their desired trip through an app and waiting at “vertiports”, similar to today’s airports, for a propeller-powered taxi to pick them up.
And Dubai’s dramatic skyline will soon be filled with buzzing passenger drones ferrying tourists and commuters.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The Chinese-made EHang 184, unveiled in Nevada, fits one person and can fly for 30 minutes at a time.
Passengers of up to 16st will use a touch-screen to choose a destination up to 31 miles away and then be whisked off automatically by a command centre.
9
9
9
9
9
