12:15 24-06-2026
SkyDrive SD-05: 12 rotors held the craft in flight at 100 km/h
Japan's SkyDrive has confirmed stable flight of its SD-05 at 100 km/h, a speed close to real commercial use. Commercial launch is set for 2028.
Japan’s SkyDrive has taken a meaningful step with its SD-05 flying car: the aircraft confirmed stable flight at 100 km/h. For the project, this isn’t a record for the sake of a nice number, but a test of a regime close to real commercial use.
The SD-05 is a compact multirotor eVTOL without a conventional wing. It is held in the air by 12 independent electric rotors, with flight controlled by an electronic management system. During the trials, the company checked not only speed but also stability, response to commands, performance of the propulsion system and onboard avionics, and how the structure behaves under load. At such speeds, vibrations, aerodynamic forces and the craft’s reactions all shift, so simulators and calculations are no longer enough — a real flight is needed.
SkyDrive is betting specifically on the urban format. Dropping the wing should simplify landing pads, maintenance and future operations in a dense city environment. But this approach has a weak spot: a multirotor aircraft has a harder time being efficient on long routes than a winged eVTOL. So the SD-05 won’t compete with airplanes and helicopters over long distances, but with short hops: airport to city center, islands, expo zones, tourist destinations.
The company says the tests confirmed that the aircraft’s real behavior matches its calculations and will help move it closer to type certification. Commercial launch is planned for 2028. This is the key barrier: for a flying car, what matters isn’t a flashy clip, but regulator approval, proven safety, an understandable cost per flight hour and the infrastructure of landing pads.
The market hasn’t taken shape yet. Joby, Archer, AutoFlight, Volocopter and other projects also promise urban air mobility, but they all hit the same wall: certification, noise, ticket price and passenger trust. SkyDrive stands out with a Japanese bet on compactness and gradual progress, not on maximum range.
For an ordinary motorist, this isn’t a replacement for a car yet. But for the auto industry the signal matters: future mobility is moving beyond the road, and brands will compete not only on range or efficiency, but on who can turn an experiment into a legal service faster.
SkyDrive has already proved that the SD-05 can fly stably at a practical speed. Now it has to prove something harder: that such a flight can be repeated every day, with passengers, and without aviation romance baked into the ticket price.