Flying Vehicle by Airbus Has First Liftoff

The Airbus eVTOL (electric vertical and takeoff) vehicle has made its first liftoff.

Airbus introduced its prototype eVTOL earlier this year, months in advance of planned test flights.

The four-seat CityAirbus NextGen vehicle has eight propellers and a wingspan of 39 feet.

“I'm happy to share that the CityAirbus NextGen flight test campaign in Donauwörth, Germany, has started with a first liftoff,” said Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters in a posting on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“A big thank you to all our teams who have contributed to this important step in the marathon that is Advanced Air Mobility.”

The initial CityAirbus introduction coincided with the opening of the CityAirbus test center in Donauwörth. 

The fixed-wing electric aerial vehicle (EAV) has a 50-mile range and cruise speed of 75 mph.

The EAV is designed for locations in urban and suburban environments.

Airbus has been working on developing the vehicle for some time and had used two eVTOL demonstrators as part of the process. 

While the EAV has an operational automated flight mode, it will first be piloted to guide the vehicle as the urban air mobility market evolves.

The prototypes were designed to fly remotely.

EHang vehicles in China are flown pilotless and Boeing subsidiary Wisk is taking a pilotless EAV approach. 

Related:Flying Vehicle Introduced by Airbus; Electric 4-Seater

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has yet to weigh in on the coming trend of automatically flown EAVs.

The center is planned to test systems for EAVs and is of Airbus’ long-term investment in advanced air mobility (AAM).

Airbus recently signed a partnership agreement with aviation company LCI to develop partnership scenarios and business models strategy, commercialization and financing.

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