Aircraft

SkyDrive reveals new urban eVTOL air taxi and Suzuki production deal

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The revised SkyDrive eVTOL can carry two passengers and one pilot
SkyDrive
The revised SkyDrive eVTOL can carry two passengers and one pilot
SkyDrive
SkyDrive CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa introduces the new three-seat eVTOL at the Paris Air Show 2023
SkyDrive
The revised SkyDrive eVTOL is expected to have a per-charge flight range of 15 km
SkyDrive
SkyDrive will submit the eVTOL for airworthiness certification in time for the World Expo 2025
SkyDrive
The pilot is seated front and center, with passengers side-by-side in the rear
SkyDrive
Top air speed is reported to be up to 100 km/h, and flight range per charge is 15 km
SkyDrive
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Last year, Tokyo-based SkyDrive announced plans to launch an eVTOL taxi service at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Now the company is at the Paris Air Show to reveal design and specs changes and a production deal.

Originally, the company's SD-05 air taxi would only be able to accommodate one passenger and a pilot, but now the newly named SkyDrive eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) has grown to 13 x 13 x 3 m (43 x 43 x 10 ft) dimensions and added another passenger seat to "enable a more profitable operation and a more convenient and enjoyable experience."

The battery electric flyer is now expected to have a maximum takeoff weight of around 1,400 kg (3,100 lb) and will still operate using 12 motor/prop units. Essentially, this is a non-transitioning "big drone" design, highly reminiscent of Volocopter's short-range 2X, which has been flying manned missions for several years now.

Top speed remains unchanged at 100 km/h (62 mph), but the per-charge range has increased to 15 km (9.3 miles). That sounds pretty pathetic compared with the 250-plus km (150-plus miles) we're already seeing from transitioning eVTOLs like the Autoflight Prosperity and Joby S4, but both Volocopter and SkyDrive clearly feel it's enough for inner-city rooftop-to-rooftop hops over traffic, or short sightseeing tours.

The revised SkyDrive eVTOL is expected to have a per-charge flight range of 15 km
SkyDrive

Plans call for SkyDrive to start making the aircraft in early 2024, and to that end the company is building on a collaboration with the Suzuki Motor Corporation that began in March last year, setting up a new subsidiary to focus on production at a Suzuki facility in the Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan.

The eVTOL will then be prepared for airworthiness certification in time for the World Expo 2025 event, followed by type certification in 2026 ahead of full production and delivery to customers. A Paris Air Show briefing document also reveals a development timeline that will see a doubling of range by 2029, and autonomous operation with three passengers for 40 km (25 miles) per charge by 2031.

SkyDrive also aims to seek type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration with a view to starting operations in the US.

Source: SkyDrive

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4 comments
Deres
I sincerely doubt the market case ... 15 km is too short for the usual distance between major airports and city centers which is the main application. Moreover, this means you will have to recharge or change the battery after each flight meaning each destination shall be a maintenance spot, not just one at a main hub. 100 km/h is also too slow because you have to take into account the speed of the wind. If you have a strong face wind of 50 km/h, this would reduce the range to a meager 7.5 km ... The pilot is also a major cost center and two passenger is too small to absorb it.
Towerman
Range is a bit scant yes but pilots will never go away someone has to monitor the systems on ground or in flight no matter how atonomous things get in future.
Smokey_Bear
Towerman - You must walk into a lot of walls, being that short sighted.
Towerman
@Smokey_bear
Nope, been embraced everywhere i travel with fellow associates, having real Vtol flight experience
with various systems i know what can and will go wrong no matter how perfected your redundency measures are, time to grow up and get some real life safety knowledge under your belt ;)