FOCUS: Flying Cars Take Off as Support Systems Emerge, But Hurdles Remain

By Toshifumi Sekitsuka Tokyo, April 23 (Jiji Press)–Twelve rotors hummed into the sea breeze as SkyDrive Inc.’s flying car lifted itself straight up from land and out over Tokyo Bay, marking another moment the new mode of air mobility came a step closer to a reality. Still, hurdles remain to be resolved before it is put into practical use. The Feb. 24 demonstration flight of the Japanese startup’s SD-05 model at an outdoor space of the Tokyo Big Sight convention center, located in the Japanese capital’s waterfront area, offered a glimpse of the future of mobility with no traffic congestion and less noise compared with automobiles and helicopters, and zero emissions during operation. In a trip that took about three and a half minutes, the remote-controlled flying car, or electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, climbed up to about 13 meters and traveled roughly 150 meters offshore before returning, at speeds of up to 4 meters per second. The all-electric aircraft, about 11.5 meters long, 11.3 meters wide and 3 meters tall, is designed to carry two passengers in addition to the pilot, and has a maximum cruising speed of about 100 kilometers per hour and a range of 15 to 40 km. Being smaller and lighter than conventional aircraft, it needs a much smaller space for takeoff and landing. Its airframe was built jointly with Suzuki Motor Corp. “Our goal is commercial service,” SkyDrive founder and CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa told a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on Feb. 18, ahead of the demonstration flight. SkyDrive aims to eventually offer its service in urban areas, utilizing the rooftops of high-rise buildings as takeoff and landing slots for its flying cars. At the Tokyo Big Sight demonstration, the up-and-coming company, based in the city of Toyota in the central prefecture of Aichi, and partner businesses showcased infrastructure and other systems to make the air mobility a usual means of transportation in the future. A prototype terminal, assembled from two mobile home units, showed passenger flow–check-in, security screening, waiting and boarding–although no passenger or crew was actually aboard the aircraft in the demonstration flight. At check-in, a facial recognition device combined with a scale confirmed a mock passenger’s identity and measured the person’s weight to check whether the total weight of the aircraft, pilot and passenger was under the vehicle’s maximum takeoff weight of 1.4 tons. In a flying car control room, operators constantly monitor surrounding conditions, including weather, nearby aircraft and birds around a “vertiport,” a dedicated takeoff and landing site. All those procedures are expected to be handled by Skyports Ltd., a British operator of takeoff and landing facilities. Two Japanese firms, Mitsubishi Estate Co. and major trader Kanematsu Corp., both of which jointly hosted the demonstration event with SkyDrive, assume direct access from one building to another in central Tokyo by installing vertiports on the rooftops of existing high-rises. “Providing premium services is also an option (in the future),” an official said, suggesting, for example, moving shops and restaurants on lower floors closer to rooftop vertiports so that passengers can use them easily. SkyDrive plans to launch SD-05 commercial operations in 2028, starting with tourism flights in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, and the southwestern prefecture of Oita. The Tokyo metropolitan government, which also works with SkyDrive, hopes to see the flying car service begin around 2030 in the center of the capital. Fares, SkyDrive says, could ultimately settle at levels roughly twice those of taxis. Experts in aviation policy and business say technology is no longer a binding constraint. “Flying cars are technologically feasible,” said Hajime Tozaki, professor at Tokyo-based J. F. Oberlin University’s College of Business Management, who is well versed in transport policy. Public acceptance, however, remains weak. “In Japan, risk awareness of falling objects is high,” shaping sensitivity more sharply than in parts of Europe, for example, Tozaki said. This anxiety feeds into questions such as, “Who is in control?” and “Is it safe?” SkyDrive says the SD-05 can be piloted with a helicopter license plus about 20 hours of simulator training. Airspace is free of traffic congestion. Even so, in urban areas in particular, flying cars may need to share airspace with helicopters, which requires deep situational awareness. Tightening regulations would improve safety, but at the same time risk slowing implementation. “Although autonomous flight is our long-term aim, human pilots remain in control for now,” Fukuzawa said at the Feb. 18 press conference. Paradoxically, however, regulations “become more complex when human operation is involved,” Tozaki said. Certification is also a key issue. In this regard, SkyDrive said March 9 that it has reached an agreement with the transport ministry on how to demonstrate the SD-05’s flight safety, a major milestone in the process of obtaining type certification for the flying car. In addition, the company has obtained a certification known as Approved Design Organization from the ministry’s Civil Aviation Bureau, becoming the first flying car developer to do so. A company with ADO is certified as having an adequate quality control and safety management system for aircraft design and post-design inspections. In urban areas, the operational environment adds another variable. Takeoff from and landing at the rooftops of high-rise buildings often face turbulent winds. A smaller aircraft body is a design advantage but could be vulnerable to strong winds and other unfavorable weather conditions, hampering efforts to ensure safe flying car operations and offer frequent flight services needed for profitability. “What matters is making the public understand why flying cars are needed,” Tozaki said, noting that they can ease traffic congestion, support tourism or be used as an emergency transport means. “Without public understanding, they will not fly often, and without frequent flights, they will not be viable,” he said. “For local authorities and residents, the appeal is visible–enterprise tax revenue from operators and spillover effects such as smart city development,” Tozaki said. “As well as engineers,” the professor added, “others must also help build public understanding.” The machines are ready to fly. Whether they become part of daily life will be decided not in the air, but by people on the ground. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]