Japanese company SkyDrive has unveiled the design of its commercial model flying car – the SkyDrive SD-05. The SD-05 is currently under development and is to be used at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka.
The SkyDrive SD-05 is a two-seater, electrically powered compact aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities. The aircraft will measure 9.4 x 9.4 x 2.7 meters and have a maximum takeoff weight of 1,100 kg (2,400 lb). Operated by a driver-pilot, the SD-05 is designed for flights up to about 10 km (6.2 miles), and the maximum cruise speed is 100 km/h (62 mph). However, the design and specifications are subject to change and the progress of design development.
SkyDrive already conducted a public manned test flight with its single-seat predecessor SD-03, its first model, in August 2020. The SD-05 is now a two-seater that has an airframe based on “studies of the streamlined shapes of birds and animals,” the company says. It sports both horizontal and vertical tails for extra flight stability, and the lift and propulsion are provided by twelve motor-propeller units.
“This is another big step towards the realization of flying cars and sky roads,” said Takumi Yamamoto, SkyDrive design director. “Two years have passed since the announcement of the SD-03, which successfully completed its public manned flight test in August 2020, and we are very happy to be able to announce its successor, the SD-05.”
The company is now in the process of acquiring a type certificate for the SD-05 from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT), as the first of its kind in Japan. With its mission to lead a once-in-a-century mobility revolution, SkyDrive is developing safer, more secure flying cars with an eye toward realizing a world where they are used in daily life for air mobility, much as automobiles are used for daily ground transportation.
