What is stopping us from having flying cars?
Two significant challenges are disrupting the aviation sector: the urgent need for zero emissions and the unstoppable shift towards connecting cities and unserved regions lacking proper ground infrastructure (rail or roads). We are entering the most exciting chapter in aviation since the dawn of the jet age. It will be marked by eye-catching and revolutionary alternatives to traditional aerial mobility.
For decades, we have dreamed about hopping between cities with personal “flying cars.” But moving from a vision to a viable alternative to current transportation solutions is a big step. The fundamental technologies to enable inner city hops in small VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft must be ready to scale and operate safely. Combustion engines were never going to underpin aircraft that could run silently or at a price tag that would appeal to the masses. Helicopters have flown above cities for decades, but the high noise pollution, greenhouse emissions, and operating costs prevented them from becoming viable alternatives for everyday commutes.
Today’s accelerated growth in battery technologies, coupled with the advent of distributed electric propulsion, autonomous software, and enhanced passenger experiences, have enabled the re-design of aerial vehicles from square one. We finally have the technologies to deliver almost silent, zero-emission, and affordable air taxi operations. The electric aerial revolution is in progress. In a decade, it will be commonplace to see flying air taxis hopping from city to city and unmanned drones delivering groceries in minutes.
Most advanced manufacturers are running trials and testing multiple electric VTOL architectures and applications, gathering valuable data on system reliability and flight performance.
Nonetheless, the “road” ahead is long and complex. Safety standards for commercial aircraft are stringent, and we expect them to be even stricter for urban air mobility. The most critical hurdle manufacturers must overcome in certifying the aircraft is a process that demonstrates how the aircraft meets EASA/FAA safety requirements. Each aircraft’s component must be designed and manufactured to comply with these standards.
Unlike conventional aircraft or helicopters, novel electric VTOL aircraft have numerous innovations and design choices incompatible with existing regulations. To accelerate conventional certification processes, additional considerations might arise, such as:
—What will it take to demonstrate that these new aircraft architectures are at least as safe as commercial aviation? —Can a digitalized certification workflow maintain the required traceability from regulatory airworthiness to evidence compliance, enabling automated VTOL test case generation and systems trade-off analysis?—Can data-driven machine learning automate test scenario generation? Can evidence generation be accelerated by conducting real-world tests in as data-rich a manner as possible?
We are convinced that by 2030, flying in electric VTOL aircraft will be part of our daily habits; this change will be a huge step forward toward full sustainability for the whole aviation industry. Combined with autonomous transportation, advanced air mobility will soon enable greener, connected cities where traffic congestion is a mere memory.
Moving from combustion engines to electric propulsion is an essential step toward sustainability, and we are well on the path to getting there. Electric air taxis are only the first step for a much wider journey that will see aviation reach its emissions goals and eventually bring back commercial supersonic travel. However, this time supersonic will be electric.