The future is here! The first flying car model has passed safety tests in Japan and has a release date of just a few years from now. We're finally starting to reach those milestones we always saw in the futuristic sci-fi interpretations of what the 21st century could be.
The designers already have huge plans for the floating vehicle, including a taxi service that solely soars through the skies, but let's check out the initial info first.
That's right folks, it's finally here. Flying cars have been a hyper-futuristic concept for decades now, but that may stop being fantasy and start being a reality with the eVTOL electric flying car, designed by a Japanese company called SkyDrive.
Or a gigantic drone, whichever perspective you like better.
The vehicle only has a single seat and can stay in the air for about ten minutes, so not the best for any long-distance commuting yet. It has eight propellers keeping it up, and can travel at almost 50 kilometers an hour, which is just above 30 miles per hour.
A driver took the eVTOL for a spin around a test area before landing back on the ground. The company then applied for a 'type' certificate from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, which was then granted.
A 'type' certificate signifies the approval by the Ministry of the vehicle's design, structure, performance, and safety. This is the first to be awarded to a flying car.
They can now take this model and expand upon it, knowing they have one that not only works, but has approval from the Japanese government.
They already have plans in place for where they want to grow, having already shared a design for a double-seated design called the SD-XX that could theoretically fly 100 kilometers per hour (or 62 miles per hour) for 20-30 minutes.
Maybe by the time this youngest generation is our age, flying cars will have taken over as the primary mode of travel. After all, electric cars were once a distant dream, but every year we're seeing more and more people make the switch as they become more accessible. The certificate awarded to SkyDrive allows the eVTOL to be available commercially as early as 2025.
Here's to a cooler future!
h/t: Ozzyman
