The British company GKN Aerospace has started to develop a route urban aircraft Skybus, which will transport passengers in cities like a bus. According to Aviation Week, the UK Agency for Research and Innovation has allocated 4.5 million pounds ($6.2 million) for the project.
Most modern urban aircraft projects involve the creation of small air taxis designed to carry up to four or five passengers. Such vehicles will transport passengers either from one address to another, or between air taxi platforms. The Skybus project involves flying a passenger vehicle along the route with landings at stops for disembarking and boarding people.
As part of the Skybus project, it is planned to create an aircraft capable of carrying from 30 to 50 passengers. It is assumed that the flight routes of such "buses" will correspond to the routes of ground transport. The aircraft is planned to be electric. Other details about the project of the aircraft are not disclosed.
In addition to GKN Aerospace, the Skybus project involves Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, Deloitte and Rolls-Royce, the University of Southampton, Cranfield University, University College London, as well as Heathrow and London City airports.
In January 2021, the Russian company Hoversurf began flight tests of a prototype of an unmanned air taxi in the indoor sports arena "Luzhniki". The promising device will be able to transport passengers and cargo weighing up to 300 kilograms at a speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour. The range of the electric air taxi will be about 100 kilometers.
Vasily Sychev
