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Joby Aviation says it completed a 523-mile test flight of a hydrogen-powered air taxi
Joby Aviation says it completed a 523-mile test flight of a hydrogen-powered air taxi. The company suggested that it points toward a future of emissions-free regional air travel.
Kris Holt07.11.2024
Joby Aviation's first production air taxi cleared for flight tests
Joby Aviation has been cleared by the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) to start flight tests on its first production prototype air taxi.
Steve Dent06.30.2023
Delta invests in air taxi startup Joby to enable home-to-airport flights
Delta has invested in air taxi pioneer Joby to offer short-hop flights from home to the airport.
Jon Fingas10.11.2022
United Airlines plans to buy up to 500 electric flying taxis
The company also invested $15 million into eVTOL maker Eve Air Mobility.
Kris Holt09.09.2022
Volocopter's longer-range drone taxi completes its first test flights
Volocopter's four-seat drone taxi has flown for the first time, and should serve passengers in 2026.
Jon Fingas06.07.2022
We won't have electric airplanes until battery tech improves
We are nearing the age of electric airplanes, just need the batteries to get stronger and lose a bit of weight.
Andrew Tarantola10.29.2021
Honda announces plans to build electric VTOLs and telepresence robots
Honda announced Thursday that it is working to develop, remote telepresence robots, electric VTOLs for short-hop commutes, and a fuel-cell driven power generation system for the lunar surface.
Andrew Tarantola09.30.2021
NASA starts flight testing with Joby's electric air taxi
NASA is now flight testing Joby's electric air taxi as part of a program meant to improve mobility in the US.
Jon Fingas09.04.2021
Airspeeder completes the first test flight for its electric flying race car
Airspeeder has completed the first test flight for its electric flying race car ahead of a planned racing series.
Jon Fingas06.20.2021
Larry Page's air taxi startup loses one of its key designers
The Larry Page-backed air taxi startup Kitty Hawk has dropped a key designer after fights over the company's strategy.
Jon Fingas06.12.2021
Wisk will start testing its 'air taxi' implementation later this year
This electric VTOL-capable drone is taking another step toward tests with passengers in New Zealand.
Richard Lawler03.31.2021
Fiat Chrysler teams with startup Archer to build an electric air taxi
Archer Aviation has announced a partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).
Steve Dent01.12.2021
Volocopter is researching the best air taxis routes in Southeast Asia
Volocopter is preparing for a feasibility study that will determine the best cities and routes for air taxis in Southeast Asia and evaluate different air taxi use cases. This next step is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) necessary for Volocopter to bring commercial air taxis to the region.
Christine Fisher02.18.2020
Toyota invests $394 million in flying taxi startup Joby Aviation
Toyota just invested $394 million in the flying taxi startup Joby Aviation. The two companies say they will work together, Joby sharing its all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) expertise and Toyota lending its knowledge of manufacturing, quality and cost controls to the development and production of Joby's future aircraft.
Christine Fisher01.16.2020
Volocopter's massive utility drone can carry up to 440 pounds
While Volocopter's been busy working on its air taxis, it's also preparing to enter the utility drone market using a similar design. Much like the company's experimental 2X and upcoming VoloCity, the aptly-named VoloDrone announced today is yet another 18-rotor electric aircraft, which can be remote-controlled or set to a pre-planned route in autonomous mode. But instead of carrying passengers, the VoloDrone is designed to fit various types of cargo and equipment under its belly -- be it a box, an agricultural sprayer, a sling or disaster relief tools.
Richard Lai10.30.2019
Volocopter reveals its first commercial autonomous flying taxi
Just yesterday we said flying taxis may be a reality in the not-too-distant future. Today, Volocopter revealed its first commercial air taxi, the VoloCity. Designed to serve as an on-demand, inner-city vehicle, it can carry two passengers and their hand luggage. It's capable of an estimated range of 35 km (or roughly 22 miles) and an airspeed of 110 km/h (or about 68 mph). This is the fourth-generation eVTOL, or electric take-off and landing aircraft, by the German company, and like models we've seen in the past, the VoloCity has 18 rotors, redundancy in all critical systems and a promise of low noise.
Christine Fisher08.21.2019
Boeing's self-flying taxi completes its first flight
Multiple companies have outlined plans for flying taxis, but Boeing just took an important step toward making them a practical reality. The aircraft maker has completed the first test flight of its autonomous electric VTOL aircraft, verifying that the machine can take off, hover and land. It's a modest start, to put it mildly -- the taxi has yet to fly forward, let alone transition from vertical to forward flight modes. That still puts it ahead of competitors, though, and it's no mean feat when the aircraft existed as little more than a concept roughly one year ago.
Jon Fingas01.23.2019
Rolls-Royce is the latest to develop a flying taxi
The flying taxis from Airbus and Uber may have some fresh competition, albeit not quite in the way they might have expected. Rolls-Royce has unveiled an EVTOL (Electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) concept that could carry four to five passengers to virtually any large-enough landing spot thanks to wings that can rotate 90 degrees. It wouldn't be purely electric, despite the name (gas turbines would produce the 500kW of power needed for six propellers), but it would be quiet while ferrying people up to 500 miles at a peak speed of 250MPH. Its wing propellers would fold away once at cruise height to avoid irking either passengers or people below.
Jon Fingas07.15.2018