Mankind still hasn't given up on building a viable flying car. And it looks like some impressive improvements are being made. SkyDrive recently showcased a demonstration of their latest prototype.

Back in 2018, Toyota patented a flying vehicle design, which would be used by a subsidiary known as SkyDrive. Now, some real progress has been made. A test flight occurred on August 25, where a pilot successfully operated the small, manned “flying car.” The vehicle stayed off the ground and within the safety of a protective cage for about four minutes before landing without issue.



The vehicle prototype, referred to as SD-03 (likely short for SkyDrive model 03), is a single person vehicle with four propellers on each corner. The design is comparable to a large-scale drone, likely sharing the same control scheme. SkyDrive has plans to produce a two-seated version, but the increased mass makes development difficult.

Limited in power, the current models would only be suitable for short distance travel, like through the city. SkyDrive claims that the SD-03 can sustain air travel for up to 10 minutes. The company is aiming to reach a commercial flight time of at least 30 minutes by production time. They also would like to achieve a fully autonomous taxi service by 2030. But we will see.

Flying cars are still a thing of the future. But it's exciting to see it be a little closer than it used to be.