First have a look at Japan’s SKYDRIVE plane as firm targets business flight in 2025
SkyDrive’s SD-05 Takes Flight at Expo 2025 Vertiport
SkyDrive Inc., a Japanese eVTOL (electrical Vertical Takeoff and Touchdown) plane developer, efficiently performed a public demonstration flight of its SKYDRIVE SD-05 plane on April 9, 2025. The occasion befell throughout the Media Day at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai.
The SKYDRIVE plane took off from the Expo’s on-site Vertiport, operated by ORIX Company. It reached an altitude of 5 meters and remained airborne for about 4 minutes. The flight was totally automated and remotely piloted, with nobody on board.
This flight marks a key milestone for SkyDrive. In 2023, the corporate was chosen as one of many official operators for the Good Mobility EXPO, a serious a part of the Expo’s “Future Society Showcase Mission.” The summer time of 2025 will function each point-to-point and round eVTOL flights on the Expo.
Growth and Testing Behind the Scenes
SkyDrive additionally launched new footage from its check flights at a personal improvement facility in Toyota Metropolis, Aichi Prefecture. These checks used the identical SD-05 prototype design because the one proven on the Expo.
Along with flight checks, SkyDrive shared a brand new video displaying the corporate’s improvement journey. Based in 2018, the corporate has labored to deliver its imaginative and prescient of airborne mobility to life.
CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa mentioned, “Since our founding, we have now embraced the imaginative and prescient of ‘Past Drive,’ as we search to steer the upcoming revolution in airborne mobility.” He additionally recalled a serious early milestone: “In August 2020, we efficiently performed Japan’s first-ever public demonstration flight of an eVTOL, vastly rising world consciousness of our firm and model.”
Wanting Towards the Future
SkyDrive is getting ready for broader use of eVTOLs throughout Japan. Plans are in place for eVTOL routes referred to as the “Osaka Diamond Routes,” which can join key places in Osaka akin to Shin-Osaka/Umeda, Morinomiya, Tennoji/Abeno, and the Osaka Bay Space.
The corporate additionally plans to steadily prolong the vary of the SD-05 from 15 kilometers to 30–40 kilometers as battery expertise improves.
SkyDrive’s SD-05 plane seats three folks—one pilot and two passengers. It makes use of 12 electrical rotors for vertical raise and ahead motion. The plane has a most takeoff weight of 1,400 kg and a cruising pace of 100 km/h.
Fukuzawa emphasised the environmental advantages of this expertise. “eVTOL is a type of clear mobility that can assist cut back CO2 emissions and assist the evolution of a sustainable society,” he mentioned. “eVTOLs additionally obtain lowered noise ranges, permitting them to seamlessly combine into city environments.”
SkyDrive started producing the SD-05 in March 2024 at a Suzuki Motor Company plant. The corporate is now working with aviation authorities in each Japan and the U.S. to realize business certification.
As Fukuzawa defined, “Shifting ahead, we stay dedicated to the event of our plane and its related enterprise fashions as we work to revolutionize the way forward for city air journey.”
For extra info, go to: https://en.skydrive2020.com/
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, an expert drone companies market, and a fascinated observer of the rising drone trade and the regulatory atmosphere for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles targeted on the business drone house and is a world speaker and acknowledged determine within the trade. Miriam has a level from the College of Chicago and over 20 years of expertise in excessive tech gross sales and advertising and marketing for brand new applied sciences.
For drone trade consulting or writing, Electronic mail Miriam.
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