Airbus ''flying car'' takes to the skies for the first time
flying car
Airbus ' ' ' flying car ' ' '
Airbus took a big leap to bring a flying cab.
The self-piloted aircraft climbed 16 feet before successfully returning to the ground after the 53rd second trip.
VAHANA flew again Thursday, the company said in a statement.
The test flights took place at the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems range in Oregon.
The 20.3-foot-long, 18.7-foot-wide VAHANA is designed to take off and land vertically in a small area.
It has helicopter props, and two sets of tilting wings each with four electric motors.
There is room for a passenger under a canopy that retracts like a motorcycle helmet visor.
Airbus offers a Keep in your flying cab
The project is part of Airbus' expansion into new flight technologies through its Silicon Valley unit, a3 (pronounced a-cubed).
Unlike the slow and time-consuming processes of designing, building and testing Airbus aviation aircraft.
EVAHANA's first flight comes just 24 months after a3 was founded.
"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."
Zach loveting, VAHANA project executive, said.
Future tests will further validate the company's technology and the prototype will eventually test the transition from passing a few meters off the ground to forward flight.
VAHANA has to master that transition if it wants to fly passengers from the rooftops of skyscrapers in crowded cities.
VAHANA executives have said they expect to have a more refined version of VAHANA ready to sell in 2020.
uber's Elevate project cited the VAHANA project as a possible candidate to move the company beyond ground transportation and transform how people get around cities.
Airbus' main rival, Boeing, is also rapidly advancing technology for future air cabs.
The aerospace giant last year acquired Aurora Flight Sciences, a manufacturer of automated drones and aviation parts.
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