Airbus’s First Flying Car Had a Successful Flight But It’s Not Ready For Prime Time Just Yet

It’s all about the flying car

Airbus’ first self-guided flying car finished its inaugural flight and successful I would add on the second of this month. The model “Vahana” flying car, which the aviation firm says will turn into the most recent leap forward in the public transportation service, remained airborne for 53 seconds, achieving a stature of 16 feet at the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range in Oregon.

According to an Airbus statement on the flight, “Today we are celebrating a great accomplishment in aerospace innovation,” said Zach Lovering, Project Executive of Vahana. “In just under two years, Vahana took a concept sketch on a napkin and built a full-scale, self-piloted aircraft that has successfully completed its first flight. Our team is grateful for the support we’ve received from A³ and the extended Airbus family, as well as our partners including MTSI and the Pendleton UAS Range.”

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The 18.7-foot-long, 20.3 foot wide unmanned flying car is works by taking off vertically and landing the same way. The venture is a piece of Airbus’ Silicon Valley unit, A³, which is investigating new flying advancements.

The true objective is to offer the public a faster transportation choice that has speeds as much as four times quicker than street movement and a flight scope of around 50 miles. The expected cost would be practically identical to you taking a car or even a train for that matter as a commuter.

Airbus is additionally considering utilizing the vertical take-off and landing machine later on as a delivery mechanism, emergency vehicle, taxi or even a search and rescue tool.

Vahana officials revealed to CNN they plan to have a refined form of the craft prepared to offer in 2020 and while this may look like its ready for primetime, it cannot change direction in flight just yet. This is why the project team says that would be their next step.

This is the first test since Airbus announced about a year ago that it was building something like this. At last year’s   Geneva Motor Show, Airbus and Italdesign announced Pop.up and presented it as system that offers modular functionality which means Pop.up can operate on both the land and in the air.