Since the dawn of flight in late 1903, when the Wright brothers did the impossible
and took humans to the sky, we have always looked for further and further innovation.
Now, we are in a new era of flight with various types of drones,
VTOLs, and aircraft being seen left and right.
Come along with us as we showcase a flying motorcycle ready to take to the skies.
And stick around until the end of the video for a look at our honorable mentions.
Let’s get to it!
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JetPack Aviation has been developing vertical take-off and landing,
or VTOL, vehicles for over ten years.
You may know it for its jetpacks which put it on the map way back when,
but did you know that it has branched out from the personal luxury toys?
JetPack Aviation has established Mayman Aerospace
to handle the design and development of VTOLs meant for something a bit greater than a fun time.
One of the ways that Mayman Aerospace will tackle those
means of greatness is through the Speeder AUV, which we will be covering in today’s video!
So what is the Speeder AUV?
Well, first off, the AUV stands for Air Utility Vehicle,
and that is what this slick prototype is all about.
Those glossy angles, night-black colors, and all-around video game-like design
are more than just show. They also cut through wind resistance like no other.
The Speeder AUV is designed to be around the size of a motorbike and uses eight jet
engines as a means of propulsion. Those jet engines run off of Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Safety is a significant concern for the team, as you can imagine, and that’s why they’ve
installed a proprietary onboard system that helps rebalance the engines in the event of trouble.
To help users take control of the wheel,
they also made the flying bike as easy to use as they could manage.
Ease of use is a major part of the design for the Speeder AUV
because the company plans on getting these in the hands of police, firefighters, and other emergency
operations. The faster and easier they can be trained in using these machines, the better.
Another use is for cargo, as it comes with a cargo mode. While in this mode, it can fly
for four hundred miles at five hundred miles per hour and carry loads of up to one thousand pounds.
It’s also designed to be modular, shifting from a manned flyer
to automated flight to remotely piloted and back.
The Speeder AUV is not available for purchase right now, but further flight tests are scheduled
for later this year, and piloted tests are slated for the end of the year.
As always, thanks for watching, and we hope you enjoyed the video.
Head down to the comments and let us know your thoughts - your feedback is always appreciated.
And stick around for our honorable mentions right after this.
It’s an exciting time to be alive, with not only a swath of eVTOLs being developed like
straight from our favorite Sci-Fi films and novels but affordable eVTOLs as well.
That’s what the eggheads over at ZEVA hope to do, at least,
with their new saucer-styled setup called Zero.
Rising populations, as they say, are reducing our surface availability bit by bit,
and the fabled eVTOL may be a remedy for at least the symptoms.
The pilot is meant to board this personal vessel horizontally,
with their chest touching the “floor,” A glass display allows you to see both ahead and below.
Speaking of the pilot, ZEVA is currently working on making the whole thing completely autonomous,
so you don’t even need a pilot’s license!
And with a range of around fifty miles and a top speed of one hundred and sixty miles per hour,
the Zero will target emergency first responders initially
as a way to help those in need as quickly as possible.
Zero emissions and zero waiting. Go anywhere, from anywhere.
When a group of aerospace engineers, software developers,
and tech experts come together for a single purpose, great things tend to happen.
That's the hope, at least with Paragon Aerospace and its lofty goals of tackling
not only our carbon footprint but improving the global infrastructure.
So, what is their plan of attack on such formidable foes? Well, their focus is being
spent on the SOAR, a hydrogen-powered VTOL, or Vertical Take-Off and Landing.
The SOAR is designed to carry up to nine passengers
between 300 and 400 miles using eight motors.
Paragon is intent on perfection and has created every aspect of their ambitious
project themselves, from the airframe to the motors and thermal equipment.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a hub network to station a good number of these innovative birds.
They seem to have their eyes on Brownsville, Texas.
In 2012, a group of Toyota employees established the pro bono group
CARTIVATOR and began work on the SD-00 shortly after.
This was a scale model prototype of a flying car that the company had envisioned creating.
They successfully ran driving and hovering tests with the prototype only six months later.
Still, before they could work on the real deal, they needed to scale it up first.
And so, the production of the SD-01 had begun, and the new group, SkyDrive, would arise.
SkyDrive was the new edition of CARTIVATOR and
would oversee the production of the SD series, such as the new SD-01 project.
Information on this new prototype is sparse, but it was a very early
design with a metal frame, four wheels, two seats, a steering wheel, and four rotors.
However, tests were a success, so SkyDrive was able to raise funding,
shake hands, and make friends, so they leaped into making their goal a reality.
Now you know the story, so let's get to the good stuff;
the SD-03 and the current project being developed, the SD-XX.
The SD-03 made its first public demonstration in 2020
and featured a much more commercial design than the previous prototypes.
The single-seat design resembles contemporary eVTOLs
and measures around thirteen feet long and eleven feet wide.
Four rotors are evenly split between each corner.
Each rotor is powered by its own motor as a failsafe mechanism.
A pilot flew for four minutes around one hectare of land during the demonstration
while a computer handled the flight stability and safety.
At this point, SkyDrive has shaped up to be the leader of Japan's eVTOL scene,
with many sponsorships such as Bandi Namco and Mitsubishi.
For a future project, Suzuki has teamed up with SkyDrive
for a special project that looks like it could be the SD-XX.
Suzuki will handle things like business and technology research and development
and help with mass-producing SkyDrive's next project.
This means SkyDrive is left to focus on creating the best compact, two-seater eVTOL possible.
Although the SD-XX is still in development, hence the placeholder name,
it still boasts a much more striking image than its predecessor, the SD-03.
It adds another seat to the mix for two people to enjoy a ride in the glass-covered cabin.
And because of its three wheels and land driving capabilities,
it technically falls into the category of a flying car rather than an eVTOL.
The Seraph, by Britain's Vertical Aerospace, is testing its e-vertical takeoff and landing drone,
which the company hopes to sell in the emerging global air-taxi market.
The three-person craft, has six arms, each with two rotors.
In its current form, it can carry up to 551 pounds and reach a top speed of 50 miles per hour.
The design is customizable in that it can be changed in size if needed
as well as having the option for wheels or floats.
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