The two-seater flying car performed the successful test on February 17, 2023 (Photo by Toshiki Sasazu)
A flying car achieved the first manned outdoor flight in Japan on Friday morning in a trial by a local consortium of aviation and automobile businesses, a big step for a technology seen as serving remote islands and mountainous regions that lack transportation.
The two-seater took off from an artificial island in the western Japanese city of Oita and traveled about 400 meters at an altitude of about 30 meters without a pilot controlling the plane. The vehicle, measuring 1.7 meters high and 5.6 meters wide, remained steady during a flight that lasted 3 minutes and 31 seconds.
“I felt a slight vibration when the vehicle was hovering. But overall, I enjoyed the pleasant sensation of floating gently,” said Hiroshi Kirino, who heads the consortium and was on the flight. “The test was a perfect success.”
The flight was the first outdoor manned test approved by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The consortium, called Okayama Kurashiki Mizushima Aero & Space Industry Cluster Study Group, or MASC, has been conducting unmanned tests since 2021.
Expectations are high that the electric or hybrid vehicles, which do not require runways as they can take off and land vertically, will alleviate urban traffic congestion. Efforts are underway at home and abroad to set up legal frameworks allowing the use of such vehicles.
In Japan, startups like SkyDrive and teTra Aviation have made successful unmanned and indoor manned flights. Overseas, Germany’s Volocopter and the U.K.’s Vertical Aerospace aim for commercialization in 2023 or 2024.
Organizers of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka plan to offer flying car service to connect the event venue with downtown Osaka. ANA Holdings, Japan Airlines, SkyDrive, and others have been tapped to operate the routes.
MASC was formed in 2017 and has built a track record in remote island logistics and plant inspections using drones. It hopes to create an aerospace hub in Okayama prefecture and establish an infrastructure for transporting people and goods to remote islands and mountainous areas in the Inland Sea.
Source: Nikkei Asia
