Project Vahana – Airbus’ autonomous ‘air taxi’ completes first test flight

Airbus said it has successfully completed a test flight of its Vahana electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft this week.

Vahana, the all-electric, self-piloted, VTOL aircraft being developed by A³ – Airbus’ Silicon Valley outpost announced the successful completion of its first full-scale flight test, reaching a height of 5 meters (16 feet) before descending safely.

The test was completed at 8:52 AM Pacific on January 31, 2018, at the Pendleton UAS Range in Pendleton, Oregon.

Its first flight, with a duration of 53 seconds, was fully self-piloted and the vehicle completed the second flight the following day.

“Today we are celebrating a great accomplishment in aerospace innovation,” said Zach Lovering, Project Executive of Vahana. “In just under two years, Vahana took a concept sketch on a napkin and built a full-scale, self-piloted aircraft that has successfully completed its first flight.

Our team is grateful for the support we’ve received from A³ and the extended Airbus family, as well as our partners including MTSI and the Pendleton UAS Range.”

Airbus has said it wants to build a fleet of autonomous multirotor eVTOL aircraft for individual passenger and cargo transport and aimed at helping relieve traffic problems in urban area’s using latest technologies in electric propulsion, energy storage, and machine vision.

“Vahana’s first flight demonstrates Airbus’ unique ability to pursue ambitious ideas quickly, without compromising the quality and safety for which the company is well-known. For A³, it proves that we can deliver meaningful innovation with aggressive project timetables, to provide a real competitive advantage for Airbus,” said Rodin Lyasoff, A³ CEO and former Project Executive of Vahana. “Our focus now is on celebrating the work of the tireless Vahana team while maintaining the momentum of this accomplishment.”