Air Taxis

Britain's Vertical Aerospace is hoping to strike early as the age of the eVTOL air taxi begins to dawn. Last week it unveiled its new VA-1X tilt-rotor design, and we spoke to Chief Engineer Tim Williams about the aircraft, the tech and the timeline.

Moving on from the squat, chunky Seraph and its basic manned multirotor design, Britain's Vertical Aerospace has released designs for an upcoming five-seat tilt rotor air taxi it's calling the VA-1X that can take advantage of efficient winged flight.

Although numerous companies are now developing "air taxis," many of those groups have nothing but renderings of their aircraft. Switzerland's Dufour Aerospace, however, recently completed the first phase of testing of a large-scale demonstrator.

A Palo Alto startup has popped up out of stealth mode to lay another eVTOL air taxi design on the growing pile. Archer proposes a transitioning, winged, battery-powered aircraft, and its team includes senior talent from Vahana, Wisk and Joby Aviation.

After months in lockdown, Wisk has announced it's back in the air, continuing flight testing of its autonomous two-seat Cora eVTOL aircraft at locations in New Zealand and the United States, as it prepares for certification and commercial flights.

Like a number of others in the field, German startup Lilium is out to shake up the world of aviation with an all-electric air taxi, and it has just picked up a little more momentum by way of an additional US$35-million investment.

A California company says its new "turbo air-cooled" fuel cell design can deliver three times the power and four times the lifespan of a regular fuel cell, opening the door for high-speed, long-range, hydrogen-powered electric VTOL aircraft.

EHang has achieved another important milestone in its effort to make its passenger-grade autonomous aerial vehicles a common sight in the skies. The CCAC has granted permission for the air taxis to be used for heavy-lift logistics.

Electric VTOL air taxis are one of the great emerging technologies of our time, and there are a ton of companies hoping to be early to market with a fast, safe, comfortable eVTOL aircraft for 3D commuting. Here's a roundup of the key players.

Brazilian eVTOL innovator EmbraerX has put forth a fun video showing how a multi-mode 3D transport system might work, with an eVTOL air taxi carrying a detachable glassed-over cabin that it delivers straight onto a self-driving car chassis.

Just last month, air mobility company EHang announced plans to fly into Europe and set up shop in Seville, Spain. Now the firm has partnered with the City of Hezhou in Guangxi Province, China, to build a tourism-focused terminal for its air taxis.

This eVTOL air taxi design looks like a weird helicopter/plane hybrid, but it's the safest of all the eVTOL designs we've ever seen, and it has another killer advantage in that it requires no special certification. Very cool news for 3D commuting.