All posts by Anshuman Dewangan

Mohyi Labs is working on bladeless propulsion technology that uses “ducted counter-vortex radial impeller technology” to manipulate air using waves instead of blades. Centrifugal force pushes air radially and is converted into thrust. This approach is more energy efficient and safer in densely-packed areas, providing a solution to two of the largest problems with flying cars. The company claims the...

Read More

This year’s Paris Air Show unveiled a number of flying cars that are painting a clearer picture for the future. Many vehicles have release dates within the next few years with some already taking reservations. The AeroMobil Flying Car has retractable wings and is set for production by 2020 with a price tag of $1.8 million. The PAL-V Liberty is...

Read More

Workhorse SureFly Personal VTOL Revealed

01 July 2017 || < 1 min read

Revealed at the Paris Airshow, the Workhorse Group’s SureFly personal VTOL offers simple and safe flying for a pilot and one passenger. The vehicle looks like a helicopter and uses four propeller arms with two fixed contra-rotating propellers each arm. It is powered by a gas combustion engine with lithium-ion batteries to reduce the need to recharge but to have...

Read More

Unconventional eVTOL Designs

01 July 2017 || 2 min read

Flying car manufacturers are taking interesting approaches to propulsion technology to solve the problem of personal aviation. Neva Aerospace’s AirQuadOne and DeLorean Aerospace’s DR-7 are two examples of such vehicles. Neva Aerospace AirQuadOne: The AirQuadOne uses 20 ducted fans to provide distributed thrust for vertical flight of a single passenger. Fore and aft pairs of large fans and two rows of...

Read More

Watch: MIT’s Drones That Fly and Drive

01 July 2017 || < 1 min read

MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab demonstrated its prototype for an urban transportation network using drones that switch between driving and flying to maximize battery life, speed, and efficiency. The demo had a scaled-down model of a city block with eight quadcopter drones seamlessly navigating from one point to another. MIT imagines a full network can theoretically work with...

Read More

Watch: Kitty Hawk Flight Test

25 June 2017 || < 1 min read

March 2017 || 1 min read The Kitty Hawk Flyer is an all-electric aircraft backed by Google founder Larry Page. It is designed to fly over water with a range of 50 miles or 20 minutes of flight time. It doesn’t require a pilot’s license and takes minutes to learn how to fly. The vehicle will be available for purchase...

Read More

The atmosphere is ripening for flying cars, including advancements in energy storage, electric motors, public acceptance, and regulatory environment. Companies like Uber, Airbus, E-Volo, Lilium Aviation and many others are all trying to get into the (air)space. Originally designed as cars with wings, prototypes are taking the form of small vehicles that take off and land vertically (VTOL) for short...

Read More

The Airbus Vahana, the Volocopter, and Urban Aeronautics Ltd.’s Cormorant are three VTOL’s trying to gain approval to be used in flying taxi services. The main challenge these companies face is overcoming regulatory approval to fly vehicles in densely-packed cities. Vahana Self-flying, seats one passenger. Range: 31 miles Price: $250/hour Timeline: Trials start before 2017 year-end. In service by 2021....

Read More

22 June 2017 || 1 min read AeroMobil presented its $1.6 million flying car at the Paris Air Show last week. The 26-foot wings and propeller fold into the body when on the road. Consumer sales begin in 2020. Vehicle Details Max Range: 465 miles Max Speed: 100 mph Price: $1.6 million Related Links: CNet Article: https://www.cnet.com/news/flying-car-aeromobil/

Read More

Considerations of Flying Cars in India

25 June 2017 || < 1 min read

The Problem: A 25-mile commute in Delhi takes an average of 3 hours. A Solution: Flying cars enable Indian urbanites to fly over traffic jams, saving potentially millions of hours of productivity per day. Uber Elevate imagines a network of small e-VTOL vehicles that can quickly pick up and drop off passengers at certain locations, cutting hour-long commute times to...

Read More

Boeing plans to start testing self-flying airplanes using artificial intelligence to automate actions normally done by humans. The company plans to use the same cockpit simulators used in pilot training programs to test the technology this summer before attempting real flight next year. Airbus, Boeing’s competitor, is testing a prototype of an autonomous flying taxi later this year. Planes can...

Read More

PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle) expects to deliver its first three-wheeled gyrocopter vehicle by the end of 2018. The PAL-V Liberty seats two and is certified to be used on the road with a driving license or lift off from an airfield with a pilot’s license. The company plans to sell to the US, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Japan, and China;...

Read More

Flying Taxis to Begin Trials in Dubai Q4 2017

20 June 2017 || < 1 min read

Volocopter has made an agreement with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) to test their VC200 flying taxi beginning in Q4 2017. Trials are expected to last five years. The VC200 is an e-VTOL that seats a pilot and passenger. The RTA is also planning to test flying taxi services from Ehang and Uber Elevate. Vehicle Details Max Speed: 62...

Read More

Neva AirQuadOne Revealed at Paris Air Show

20 June 2017 || 2 min read

Neva Aerospace unveiled a concept for their flying car, the AirQuadOne. It can be manned or unmanned and plan to release a fully electric and hybrid version for longer ranges. Use cases include extreme sports, transportation of 220 lb payloads, and robotic maintenance. The company is looking for certification in the US and EU. Vehicle Details Max Air Speed: 50...

Read More