A Tokyo-based flying car startup SkyDrive has reached another milestone this week. The company has announced that its application for a type certificate for its flying car was accepted by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT).
The safety certificate from Japan’s MLIT confirms that the design, structure, strength, and performance of a newly developed aircraft meet the necessary safety and environmental requirements for each type of aircraft. Certification is only granted after the aircraft has gone through a battery of studies and tests, including strength tests and flight tests. This is the first time that MLIT has accepted an application for a type certificate for a flying car.
“SkyDrive and MLIT have been discussing how to safely develop and test this type of aircraft since the Public-Private Council to promote urban air mobility was launched in Japan in 2018 and SkyDrive received permission for the first outdoor test flight of its flying car,” said Tomohiro FUKUZAWA, Chief Executive Officer, SkyDrive. “We are very pleased that our application for type certification has been accepted, and we will continue to work in close partnership with the government and MLIT to complete our development of a wholly safe and reliable flying car.”
SkyDrive is trying to get a certificate for its flying vehicle called “SD-05”, which is still under development. After successfully having a flying car concept, the company now aims to launch a flying taxi service with SD-05 in Japan’s Osaka Bay area as early as 2025. Unfortunately, the appearance of the SD-05 is not available to the public at this time.
In August 2020, SkyDrive successfully conducted the first public demonstration flight of its SD-03 flying car prototype with a pilot on board in Japan. The flight took place at the 10,000-square-meter Toyota Test Field, which is one of the largest test fields in Japan. The single-seat SD-03 circled the field for about four minutes.
