The Age of Flying Cars Has Been Launched by SkyDrive

We all know what the Japanese can do with some wires and engines, make friggin' robots, that's what! But this isn't about robots. It's not even about the Japanese people. It's about mankind. About humanity. Why? Well, because we are looking at the first stone set in a soon to be long history of vertical tack-off and landing vehicles.

It’s known as the SD-03 and it is unlike anything we’ve seen so far. So new, so revolutionary, that I sent the video below to my family and friends while screaming “It’s here! It’s here!” It’s so simple it gets complicated. It is a fully functional, manned vertical and takeoff vehicle already in testing phase. That’s right. Testing. Actually, it wasn’t even a test flight, but rather a public demonstration. Everything else has been worked out.

We can tell from the design that this vehicle is definitely inspired by modern day drones. Makes sense if we look at other SkyDrive devices. A long history with mechanics and dynamics of drones have led them to where they are today.

The entire vehicle only takes up the same amount of space as tow parked cars, making it the smallest vehicle of this type with functional capabilities. The only other device that may come close is the Nexus, but we aren't sure that’s fully functional.

The way it works is simple enough. It is considered an EV and uses absolutely no fossil fuels of any sort. The powertrain consists of electric motors located on the arms of the drone. Classic style. Each area of the four includes tow motors and two propellor blades that spin in opposite directions in order to generate enough lift. Another benefit of using a propellor system such as this, is the level of control offered.

If you check out the video below, you’ll notice how smoothly the SD takes off and hovers through the space. The showing lasted for about three minutes of flight timed where the SD was able to take-off, fly around a 2.5-acre space, and finally land safely. At the end of the video you can really see the amazement in the pilots face as he realizes what this means.

Takumi Yamamot, Design Director of SkyDrive adds this to the event. “In designing an unexplored, new genre of transportation known as the flying car, we chose the keyword "progressive" for inspiration. We wanted this vehicle to be futuristic, charismatic and desirable for all future customers, while fully incorporating the high technology of SkyDrive.

We believe that this vehicle will play an active role as your travel companion, a compact coupe flying in the sky. As a pioneer of a new genre, we would like to continue designing the vehicles that everyone dreams of.”

Now, we don’t know how long the SD can fly for and or how they recharge those batteries. All I know from my experience with EV technology is that this beauty may not be ready to replace our cars or even scooters. Not yet anyway. At that point the only question is where would you park it?