Two companies working on flying vehicles have recently been given regulatory approval to continue testing, making the reality of flying cars one step closer.
The first company is California-based air-taxi company Joby Aviation. It is hoping to build the ‘Uber of the skies’ and last week it received a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the US Federal Aviation Administration. This allows it to launch flight testing programs for its first prototype flying vehicle. Joby is building a quadcopter – a single person vehicle with 4 helicopter-like rotors.
The second company is Alef Aeronautics that also received a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA. Unlike Joby, it is building a prototype that will be able to drive on the road and will also be capable of of vertical takeoff and flying.
Rather than trying to describe it, you can see Joby and Alef’s vehicles side-by-side below.
The big event to watch is the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Olympic organisers have already announced that they plan to launch the world’s first e-VTOL [vertical takeoff and landing] service. The company contracted to provide the service is Germany’s Volocopter, but a successful showing will create a tailwind for all of these flying vehicle makers, including Joby and Alef.
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