Aircraft
Honda Achieves First Full-scale eVTOL Flight
Remotely piloted aircraft completed 90-second flight in California
Honda's full-scale eVTOL technology demonstrator, registration N805HX, in flight over San Luis Obispo, California. The white aircraft features eight lift rotors and a pusher propeller at the tail.
Honda’s full-scale eVTOL technology demonstrator, registration N805HX, completed its inaugural flight on April 1, 2026. © Honda Research Institute

Honda has completed the first flight of its full-scale eVTOL technology demonstrator, the company revealed last week via a video posted to X (formerly Twitter). According to Honda, the remotely piloted aircraft flew for about 90 seconds on April 1 at the company’s test facility in San Luis Obispo, California.

The nearly two-month gap between the flight and its disclosure is consistent with Honda’s approach to the program. Speaking at the Dubai Airshow last November, eVTOL vice president and executive chief engineer Susumu Mashio told AIN that the company had not felt the need to “proactively announce [its progress] to the public in a very immature state”—a posture that kept the program largely out of public view for several years after its 2021 announcement.

In this article