FutureFlight
With New Funding, SkyDrive Unveils Two-Seat, Short-hop eVTOL Aircraft
The Japanese start-up's SD-05 all-electric vehicle is expected to operate congestion-busting flights of up to just 10 kilometers, when it begins air taxi services at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka.
SkyDrive is producing a two-seat eVTOL aircraft called the SD-05.
SkyDrive unveiled the design for its new SD-05 two-seat eVTOL aircraft that it says will be able to improve urban transportation with flights of up to just 10 km. (Image: SkyDrive)

SkyDrive has unveiled the design for its SD-05 eVTOL aircraft, with images presented on September 26 showing significant changes from the SD-03 model, which made its first flight in August 2020. The Japanese start-up, which has also just raised 9.6 billion yen ($66.7 million) in a Series C funding round, said that the two-seat, all-electric vehicle is intended for short flights of up to just 10 km (six miles).

The company told FutureFlight it expects to conduct flight testing in 2024 with the aim of getting approval to start air taxi services during the World Expo 2025 to be hosted by the Japanese city of Osaka. It would not say when it will build the first full-scale prototype, but it has already agreed on a type certification process with Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism.

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