24 March 2018

Flying Taxi Gets Real

Kitty Hawk, the Silicon Valley startup backed by Page, said it is building and testing "all-electric vertical take-off and landing products" in New Zealand.
Dubbed "Cora," the vehicle can "take off like a helicopter and transition to flying like a plane," Kitty Hawk said in a statement on Monday. 
Cora is also self-piloting, can fly faster than 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour) and has a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles), according to the company.
From here.

This is a very cool invention. I have no idea what it costs, but it has received some form of regulatory approval in New Zealand.

The short range limits it to intracity or ferry type applications, but fitting vertical takeoff, self-piloting, and all electric propulsion into an aircraft is very impressive.

The basic concept also makes lots of sense for several applications in which helicopters are currently used in urban areas: flight for life, news coverage and police work.

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