CES 2022: SkyDrive's air taxi electric flying vehicle showcases its extremely compact design and emission-free technology for the first time outside of its origin country, Japan.
SkyDrive Air Taxi Flying Car on CES 2022
The Tokyo-based aero tech startup firm joined the CES 2022 in Las Vegas to flaunt its extremely light and ultra-compact air taxi that goes by the name Model SD-03.
SkyDrive claimed that the Model SD-03 has already completed its pilot flight testing, as per a news story by TechRadar.
It comes even as the ultra-compact design of the electric flying car gives it an impression that it is somewhat a drone that is not meant to carry people inside it.
TechRadar said in the same report that the SkyDrive flying vehicle could be mistaken as a massive drone, instead of an EV flyer, at least at first glance.
To be more precise, the Model SD-03 only carries the dimensions of four meters by four meters by two meters tall.
That said, obviously, those who are inside the flying EV should not take a chance at standing inside it. Not to mention that its interior would naturally feel a little cramped.
It is worth noting as well that the ultra-compact flying vehicle could only accommodate a single passenger as of now. As such, if you want to fly in this air taxi, you will have to learn how to fly it too to be a pilot and passenger at the same time.
However, SkyDrive told TechRadar that it is already planning to produce another variety of the Model SD-05, which could readily ride two folks inside it.
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SkyDrive Flying Car Specs
The Model SD-03 of SkyDrive sports a max cruise speed of up to 31mph, a leisurely pace for modern vehicles that travel on air.
Despite the slow speeds and the extremely compact design, it surprisingly could carry up to 1,000 pounds while flying. However, it is worth mentioning that you should take the weight of the air taxi into consideration.
On top of that, the maximum flight time of the SkyDrive EV flyer could go up to ten minutes in total. That said, it turns out that it is only meant to fly for short trips.
According to the report by AeroMorning, the Chief Operating Officer of SkyDrive, Takehiro Sato, said in a statement that "SkyDrive's emission-free vehicles take off from and land in your parking lot and helipads atop buildings."
The COO of the Japanese startup firm further said they are looking forward to "making door-to-door air travel a realistic choice of daily urban transportation."
The SkyDrive exec further noted that its electric flying vehicle was made possible by the expertise of their startup on both aerodynamic and drone engineering.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Teejay Boris
