Boeing knows a thing or two about aircraft so if you’d expect anyone to be able to pull off a successful test of an autonomous flying taxi, it would be Boeing. The company has announced that its autonomous electric VTOL aircraft has successfully completed its first flight. What that means is that the aircraft was able to take off, hover, and land under its own power.
Boeing is one of the many companies working on aircraft that would essentially be flying taxis in transportation networks of the future. They are aircraft that can take off and land vertically thus negating the need for a runway.
The test has achieved a considerable milestone. Boeing’s machine was able to take off, hover, and land. It does leave a lot to be desired, though. For starters, it hasn’t shown off that it can fly forward, not to mention that the transition from vertical to forward flight modes hasn’t been demonstrated as well.
That being said, it’s still a step further than similar machines that are being built by several other companies. Boeing says that when it’s completed, this aircraft will become part of an “urban air mobility” solution which will take passengers across towns and have a range of around 50 miles.
Filed in . Read more about Boeing. Source: boeing.mediaroom