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Watch Airbus' radical autonomous air taxi complete its 'most exciting' test yet


Watch Airbus’ radical autonomous flying taxi complete its ‘most exciting’ test yet, as Vahana craft edges closer to readiness

  • Airbus’ Vahana project completed first full transition flight on May 3, firm says
  • In the test, it lifted off vertically and switched to horizontal flight at over 100mph
  • It then slowed down to land vertically, marking a critical milestone in flight tests
  • Vahana has been working to get single-seater craft production ready by 2020

A radical electric passenger drone developed by Airbus has completed its first full transition flight, proving its ability to take off vertically and accelerate to over 100 miles per hour before slowing down for a soft landing.

Vahana, the project working to bring the craft to life under Airbus’s innovation arm, shared incredible footage of the accomplishment this week.

The test marked Vahana’s 66th flight, a number it has since surpassed by more than a dozen.

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A radical electric passenger drone developed by Airbus has completed its first full transition flight, proving its ability to take off vertically and accelerate to nearly 100 miles per hour before slowing down for a soft landing

A radical electric passenger drone developed by Airbus has completed its first full transition flight, proving its ability to take off vertically and accelerate to nearly 100 miles per hour before slowing down for a soft landing

In a blog post announcing the milestone, Vahana’s Zach Lovering said the test ‘represents everything we set out to achieve when we began our flight test campaign.’

The successful full transition flight was performed on May 3 in Oregon.

‘In the video, you’ll see Vahana take off vertically and then accelerate forward, much like in other videos we’ve shared,’ Lovering explains.

‘This time, however, Vahana’s wing and canard rotate to the full cruise configuration as the aircraft speeds up to 90 knots (over 100 mph).

‘Once the vehicle reaches cruising speed, the transition is complete and the vehicle begins to decelerate preparing for its descent and skids down!’

Vahana, the project working to bring the craft to life under Airbus’s innovation arm, shared incredible new footage this week. The test marked Vahana’s 66th flight, a number it has since surpassed by more than a dozen

Vahana, the project working to bring the craft to life under Airbus’s innovation arm, shared incredible new footage this week. The test marked Vahana’s 66th flight, a number it has since surpassed by more than a dozen

The craft took its first flight in February 2018 after just two years of development.

During that test, it climbed to a height of 16 feet (five metres) before successfully returning to the ground at 8:52am PT (11.52am ET / 4.52pm GMT).

Since then, it’s lifted off dozens of times.

Vahana’s single-seater air taxi is a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) craft, meaning it doesn’t need a runway to get into the air.

The company has been working toward a 2020 goal for a production-ready version of the craft.

Project Vahana began early in 2016 and is one of the first projects at A³, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in Silicon Valley.

A prototype of the electric unmanned air taxi is displayed at Paris Air Show, in Le Bourget, east of Paris, France, Tuesday, June 18, 2019

A prototype of the electric unmanned air taxi is displayed at Paris Air Show, in Le Bourget, east of Paris, France, Tuesday, June 18, 2019

The craft took its first flight in February 2018 after just two years of development. During that test, it climbed to a height of 16 feet (five metres) before successfully returning to the ground at 8:52am PT (11.52am ET / 4.52pm GMT)

The craft took its first flight in February 2018 after just two years of development. During that test, it climbed to a height of 16 feet (five metres) before successfully returning to the ground at 8:52am PT (11.52am ET / 4.52pm GMT)

It’s hoped that this form of transportation will make personal flight more accessible, the company has said previously.

Following the first successful test flight, Lovering said in a past blog post: ‘Our aim has long been to design and build a single passenger electric VTOL self-piloted aircraft that will answer the growing need for urban mobility.

‘Our goal is to democratize personal flight by leveraging the latest technologies such as electric propulsion, energy storage, and machine vision.

‘Our first flights mark a huge milestone for Vahana as well as the global pursuit of urban air mobility.’

HOW DID AIRBUS’ FLYING TAXI COME TO BE?

Project Vahana began in early 2016 and is one of the first projects at A³, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in San Jose, California.

The first conceptual artist’s images revealed a sleek self-flying aircraft with room for one passenger who sits under a canopy that retracts in a similar way to a motorcycle helmet’s visor.

The air taxis will take off and land vertically, thanks to tilting wings which are each equipped with four electric motors.

Project Vahana began in early 2016 and is one of the first projects at A³, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in San Jose, California. The first artist's images revealed a sleek self-flying aircraft with room for one passenger

Project Vahana began in early 2016 and is one of the first projects at A³, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in San Jose, California. The first artist’s images revealed a sleek self-flying aircraft with room for one passenger

In November 2017, the Vahana craft completed its move to the 9,600 square foot (892 sq m) Pendleton Hangar at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport, in what the firm called a ‘monumental’ step toward the first flight.

In less than a day, the team reassembled the craft, allowing them to then install the high voltage power system and motors that will power the first test flights.

It also carried out the first end-to-end flight test simulation, combining real and simulated data.

A³, pronounced A Cubed, had aimed to have a full-sized prototype in the air by the end of 2017.

It missed this deadline by a few weeks. Project Vahana’s full-scale aircraft, dubbed Alpha One, took to the skies for the first time on January 31, 2018.

Alpha One climbed to a height of 16 feet (five metres) before successfully returning to the ground.

A commercial model is planned for sale by 2020.

Airbus has revealed its airborne vehicles will cost ‘the equivalent of a normal taxi’, around $1.50 to $2 (£1 to £1.50) per mile. 





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