Posts by AeroCar Journal Staff
Urban Aeronautics
Headquarters: Israel What: Established in 2013 by Dr. Rafi Yoeli, an aerospace research and development scientist with more than 35 years experience, and others, including Major-General Herzle Bodinger, the former Commander of the Israeli Air Force, Urban Aeronautics is pursuing several markets for flying cars through its subsidiaries, Metro Skyways and Tactical Robotics. While Tactical…
Japan’s Timeline for Flying Cars
Japan is looking to commercialize flying vehicles in the 2020s. Cartivator, a Japanese nonprofit, plans to kick things off by lighting the torch at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games with SkyDrive, its road/air quadrotor craft that uses drone technology. In pursuit of its ambitious goal, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry recently recruited 21…
Kitty Hawk
Headquarters: California What: Cora is a 100 percent electric, emissions-free, two-seat, self-piloting flying taxi with a hornetlike fuselage. How: Cora lifts from the ground like a helicopter courtesy of 12 lift fans located on its wings, which stretch 36 feet tip to tip. The fans appear to be integrated motor/propeller units that can change position…
Lilium
Where: This Munich, Germany-based company was founded in February 2015 by four aerospace engineers from the Technical University of Munich, one of whom, Daniel Wiegand, is now CEO. The company is being funded by investors as well as the European Space Agency. Who: The electric flying taxi start-up hired Frank Stephenson, the designer of cars…
Aston Martin
Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin Unveil Flying Car Concepts In July 2018, the Rolls-Royce aircraft engine manufacturer unveiled a concept eVTOL vehicle at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK. The hybrid-electric vehicle is designed with six electric-driven propellers and wings that rotate 90 degrees to enable vertical takeoff and landing. The hybrid eVTOL is designed…
Terrafugia
Headquarters: Woburn, MA. The company was acquired in 2017 by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the Chinese automotive giant that owns Volvo and Lotus. What: The Transition’s been in development since 2006, when Terrafugia was launched by MIT grads. This folding-wing, two-seat roadable aircraft is powered by the Rotax 912ULS piston engine. Designed to fly like…