Just a dot on the horizon at first, the bug-like and surprisingly quiet electrically-powered craft buzzes over Paris and its traffic snarls, treating its doubtless awestruck passenger to privileged vistas of the Eiffel Tower and the city91裸聊视频檚 signature zinc-grey rooftops before landing him or her with a gentle downward hover.
And thus, if all goes to plan, could a new page in aviation history be written.
After of dreamy and not always credible talk of skies filled with flying, electric taxis, the aviation industry is preparing to deliver a future that it says is now just around the corner.
Capitalizing on its moment in the global spotlight, the Paris region is planning for a small fleet of electric flying taxis to operate on multiple routes when it hosts next summer. Unless aviation regulators in beat Paris to the punch by greenlighting a pilotless taxi for two passengers under development there, the French capital91裸聊视频檚 prospective operator 91裸聊视频� Volocopter of Germany 91裸聊视频� could be the first to fly taxis commercially if European regulators give their OK.
Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke, a former top executive at aerospace giant Airbus, has a VVIP in mind as his hoped-for first Parisian passenger 91裸聊视频� none other than French President Emmanuel Macron.
91裸聊视频淭hat would be super amazing,91裸聊视频� Hoke said, speaking this week at the Paris Air Show, where he and other developers of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft 91裸聊视频� or eVTOLs for short 91裸聊视频� competed with industry heavyweights for attention.
91裸聊视频淗e believes in the innovation of urban air mobility,91裸聊视频� Hoke said of Macron. 91裸聊视频淭hat would be a strong sign for Europe to see the president flying.91裸聊视频�
But with Macron aboard or not, those pioneering first flights would still be just small steps for the nascent industry that has giant leaps to make before flying taxis are muscling out competitors on the ground.
The limited power of restricts the range and number of paying passengers they can carry, so eVTOL hops are likely to be short and not cheap at the outset.
And while the vision of simply beating city traffic by zooming over it is enticing, it also is dependent on advances in airspace management. Manufacturers of eVTOLs aim in the coming decade to unfurl fleets in cities and on more niche routes for luxury passengers, including the French Riviera. But they need technological leaps so flying taxis don91裸聊视频檛 crash into each other and all the other things already congesting the skies or expected to take to them in very large numbers 91裸聊视频� including millions of drones.
Starting first on existing helicopter routes, 91裸聊视频渨e91裸聊视频檒l continue to scale up using AI, using machine-learning to make sure that our airspace can handle it,91裸聊视频� said Billy Nolen of Archer Aviation Inc. It aims to start flying between downtown Manhattan and Newark91裸聊视频檚 Liberty Airport in 2025. That91裸聊视频檚 normally a 1-hour train or old-fashioned taxi ride that Archer says its sleek, electric 4-passenger prototype could cover in under 10 minutes.
Nolen was formerly , the U.S. regulator that during his time at the agency was already working with NASA on technology to safely separate flying taxis. Just as Paris is using its Olympic Games to test flying taxis, Nolen said the offer another target for the industry to aim for and show that it can fly passengers in growing numbers safely, cleanly and affordably.
91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檒l have hundreds, if not thousands, of eVTOLs by the time you get to 2028,91裸聊视频� he said in an interview with The Associated Press at the Paris show.
The 91裸聊视频渧ery small91裸聊视频� hoped-for experiment with Volocopter for the Paris Games is 91裸聊视频済reat stuff. We take our hats off to them,91裸聊视频� he added. 91裸聊视频淏ut by the time we get to 2028 and beyond 91裸聊视频� you will see full-scale deployment across major cities throughout the world.91裸聊视频�
Yet even on the cusp of what the industry portrays as a revolutionary new era kicking off in the city that spawned the French Revolution of 1789, some aviation analysts aren91裸聊视频檛 buying into visions of eVTOLs becoming readily affordable, ubiquitous and convenient alternatives to ride-hailing in the not-too-distant future.
And even among eVTOL developers who bullishly talked up their industry91裸聊视频檚 prospects at the Paris show, some predicted that rivals will run dry of funding before they bring prototypes to market.
Morgan Stanley analysts estimate the industry could be worth $1 trillion by 2040 and $9 trillion by 2050 with advances in battery and propulsion technology. Almost all of that will come after 2035, analysts say, because of the difficulty of getting new aircraft certified by U.S. and European regulators.
91裸聊视频淭he idea of mass urban transit remains a charming fantasy of the 1950s,91裸聊视频� said Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory, an aerospace consultancy.
91裸聊视频淭he real problem is still that mere mortals like you and I don91裸聊视频檛 get routine or exclusive access to $4 million vehicles. You and I can take air taxis right now. It91裸聊视频檚 called a helicopter.91裸聊视频�
Still, electric taxis taking to Paris91裸聊视频� skies as Olympians are going faster, higher and stronger could have the power to surprise 91裸聊视频� pleasantly so, Volocopter hopes.
One of the five planned Olympic routes would land in the heart of the city on a floating platform on . Developers point out that ride-hailing apps and E-scooters also used to strike many customers as outlandish. And as with those technologies, some are betting that early adopters of flying taxis will prompt others to try them, too.
91裸聊视频淚t will be a total new experience for the people,91裸聊视频� said Hoke, Volocopter91裸聊视频檚 CEO. 91裸聊视频淏ut twenty years later someone looks back at what changed based on that and then they call it a revolution. And I think we are at the edge of the next revolution.91裸聊视频�
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