Airbus’ new eVTOL just took to the skies for the first time in public during a demonstration flight for a German politician.
City Airbus, as the electric aircraft is called, is part of Airbus’ vision for “flying taxi” aircraft and currently being developed by the manufacturer’s helicopter division. The remotely piloted aircraft first flew independently in December, according to Aviation Today, but the July 20 demonstration flight for Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder saw CityAirborne go airborne for the first time in front of public officials and the media, eVTOL.com reported.
Europe’s leading aircraft manufacturer is among those investing in eVTOLs as a way to advance urban air mobility, a field traditionally dominated by noisy and expensive helicopters. The past few years have seen Airbus been collecting data on the new field, in part, through its Silicon Valley incubator, Acubed, which helped develop Airbus’ now-defunct on-demand helicopter start-up Voom and single-pilot eVTOL demonstrator project Vahana.
Now, the new eVTOL aims to set the stage for a new era of flying vehicles.
https://www.businessinsider.com/cityairbus-makes-first-public-flight-airbus-flying-taxi-evtol-2020-7
