Bell's Nexus Air Taxi and the World's First Jet Pack, on Display at the Smithsonian

The eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) will be part of the FUTURES exhibition, which will cover 32,000 sq ft and will showcase a variety of art installations, inventions, artifacts of the future, and discoveries from 23 of the Smithsonian’s museums and research centers.

Bell’s futuristic Nexus Air Taxi is just a concept for now, designed to transport both people and goods, in an environmentally friendly way. Visitors will be able to explore the VTOL’s technology via digital display monitors as well as understand the company’s full history of flight.

Bell claims its air taxi would be able to turn a 45-minute drive into a 10-minute flight. In 2019, the Nexus Air Taxi was presented as a six-duct vehicle, but Bell later developed and tested a four-duct version that can operate fully electric or be configured as a hybrid-electric aircraft. The hybrid version would offer a longer range.

In addition to the Nexus Air Taxi, which was one of the company’s first initiatives to develop sustainable vertical lift solutions, Bell will also display the legendary Bell Rocket Belt, touted the world’s first jet pack, which was even featured in the James Bond "Thunderball" movie, in 1965. The jet pack weighed 120 pounds (54.4 kg) and consisted of two tanks of hydrogen peroxide and nitrogen, allowing for a 21-second float in the air.

Visitors can see the aforementioned and much more for free at the FUTURES exhibition starting this November and until July 2022. It is all part of the Smithsonian’s 175th anniversary, which will see the Arts and Industries Building reopen for the first time in almost 20 years.