Manned multirotors

One of the most colorful characters in aviation has entered the electric VTOL space. Franky Zapata, best known for his death-defying high-speed Flyboard antics, has announced a hybrid eVTOL to go alongside his jet-powered, flippable flying deckchair.

When most folk think about flying cars, we think of machines that seamlessly convert from street to air mode, that can take off and land vertically, and that can cruise in the air and on the highway. The US$789,000 Aska A5 promises to do it all.

The four-seat Aska A5 is the size of an SUV, but at the touch of a button it extends an array of electric propellers and converts to a cruise-capable eVTOL aircraft with an impressive hybrid range. The FAA has cleared it for flight testing.

Monégasque aerial photography and drone show company McClic has successfully test-flown its MC One personal eVTOL, a simple but nice-looking coaxial octacopter with a pilot's seat on top. Anyone can fly it, given about 10 minutes' training.

Hot on the heels of Lilium's Phoenix 2 demonstrator, Israel's Air has released video footage of its two-seat personal eVTOL prototype transitioning to cruise flight, marking the start of the company's bid for FAA certification.

American company Ryse Aerotech has released video of its first manned flight test, undertaken back in June. The Recon eVTOL is pitched as a buy 'n' fly ultralight aircraft that farmers and ranchers can put to immediate use without a pilot's license.

Cleared for airworthiness, Air's first full-scale eVTOL prototype has started flight testing. The Air One is an attractive two-seat manned multicopter with wings, designed for personal ownership and fun flight dynamics, with a US$150,000 price tag.

LEO Flight, formerly known as Urban eVTOL, has presented a manned alpha prototype for its LEO Coupe, a flying hypercar the company says will eventually be capable of carrying three people at speeds up to 250 mph, complete with "dynamic" handling.

Walk out into your back yard, jump into a next-generation electric VTOL flying machine, lift off and soar your way to the office helipad: that's the dream of personal eVTOL ownership, and Jetson co-founder Tomasz Patan has lived it, in a new video.

Last week, ALI Technologies briefly took to the skies above the Fuji Speedway racetrack for the launch of the slick-looking Xturismo Limited Edition hoverbike, which is now up for order with deliveries expected to follow in the first half of 2022.

Last month, we reported on astonishing first flight footage from the Copterpack, an Australian electric personal flight device. Now, eagle-eyed pixel peepers have scrutinized the video and presented evidence that a tether wire has been edited out.

Rotor X plans to break into the air taxi market with an aircraft that's "dramatically more efficient and less expensive than all other eVTOL concepts being proposed or developed today" – and it's also one of the few eVTOLs capable of autorotation.