Flying taxi: The tests and plans for the coming years

What would it be like to travel in urban areas with a flying taxi? Is it something you would try or something you would think of… double and triple in order to do it? However, if you want it, the Richard Branson and the Virgin Atlantic can serve you in this direction, as they enter (and) into the service sector taxi by air.

That, of course, just not easy. Initially, these taxis must belong to their category eVTOL, ie the vertical landing and take-off electric vehicles, for which the Vertical Aerospace based in Bristol. The company recently unveiled it VA-X4, an air taxi with a capacity of up to four people that can move at speeds up to 320-330 km / h. Its creators claim that the flying vehicle has a range of more than 150 km, does not produce pollutants while it is almost silent.

According to the BBC, Virgin Atlantic reached an agreement with it weeks ago Vertical Aerospace to investigate the possibility of providing air-taxi services, with the initial thought of its executives Virgin Atlantic to use VA-XAs to provide transportation services for people who are going to travel by plane, as Virgin aims to provide air transport at the airport to passengers who are going to travel on one of its flights Atlantic.

Flying taxis, the new means of transport (and) in Paris

However, Virgin is not the only airline-oriented company. The pilot tests of the flying taxis with a background have already started a few days ago the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Private aeronautics companies in France, in collaboration with Paris Airports, the Transport Authority and the city district, have announced their ambitious plan to make flying vehicles accessible to all. In accordance with Euronews, the Transport Agency has proposed the creation of a route between them St. Denny and Disneyland, as the theme park is located outside the capital.

In front of all those involved is Airbus, which for the past two years has presented to the public its first test flight. CityAirbus which looks like a huge drone with a capacity of four people. At the same time, the construction of the take-off and landing terminals begins (vertiport), where the installation of a special electric charging system for vehicles is foreseen. “We have a lot of unused places, like bus stations and depots that will allow us to house this infrastructure. “We think of air taxis as a means of business, tourism and, of course, connecting isolated areas,” she said. Marie Claude Dipois, Director of Innovation at the Paris Transport Agency.

The French authorities want to have this project ready by the Paris Olympics in 2024, with potential customers being able to book their flights using a exclusive application on the smartphone.

Competition from Germany is in full swing

However, Airbus has to face the competition of the German company Volocopter. The flying taxi Volocity is a hybrid of something between a drone and a helicopter and has already flown test flights to Helsinki, Stuttgart and Singapore, and was recently introduced for its first test flight at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, where the taxi flew for about four minutes. at an altitude of 30 meters above the ground.

“It is designed for urban use. He’s got two seats that perfectly match the needs of the passengers. If we look at taxis or Uber today, they have a waist capacity of one, maximum two people inside the cabin, so this is the perfect vehicle for commuting. “It is quiet, safe and offers a fantastic experience,” he said Florian Reuters, CEO of Volocopter.

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