The CityAirbus Flying Taxi Made Its First Free Flight

Yes, this is what you think – the first flight of the all-electric #CityAirbus!

Flight tests started at the end of 2019 at the factory in Donauwörth (Germany). The video is showing the first independent flight without safety cables.

On January 13, 2020 – a flying taxi, created by Airbus Helicopters, a division of Airbus Corporation, made its first free flight. This project is implemented by the company in conjunction with the Autonomous Office of Paris Transport – RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens).

CityAirbus made a second flight on May 2019, when safety ropes were attached to the machine. Then only engines and flight control systems were tested.

Now we are talking about a practically completed device that can deliver four people by air and travel at a speed of 120 km/h. The engines of a flying taxi are powered by electric energy, and its take-off and landing will be vertical.

Currently, engineers are exploring the possibility of its usage in Ile de, the district of Paris, France. The idea is to try to provide a flying taxi for the Olympic Games in 2024 with a route between Paris and Disneyland, as well as to create a passenger transportation route between the cities of Roissy and Saint-Denis.

According to the experts involved in the project, the commercial use of flying taxis, which will partially replace the land transport, will become possible by 2030. It is planned to create routes between Paris and Versailles, and transportation to the business district of La Defense will also be arranged.

According to Le Parisien, at the moment, technically flying taxis are almost completely ready for flights with passengers. But there is still a need to fix issues related to the creation and management of such a transport system. In particular, it will be necessary to develop relevant laws and regulations, as well as create a flight management system that will be carried out at low altitudes and above city blocks. Problems may arise in relation to complaints from residents of noise from flying cars equipped with several large propellers.

In addition, it will be necessary to find places for landing sites and properly equip them, in particular, with recharging equipment. The issue of transportation tariffs should also be settled. It is assumed that the service will not be elite, but publicly available. RATP experts believe that the price of a flight per 1 km should be 1-2 euros.