First successful flight of SkyDrive's eVTOL

Japanese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer SkyDrive performed the first demonstration flight of its three-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft SkyDrive on 9 April at Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan.

SkyDrive is powered by Thales's flight control system, FlytRise, which is adapted to the requirements of unmanned aircraft: autonomy, lightweight design, and compactness. Designed for intra-urban flights, SkyDrive is one of the critical elements of aircraft for flight safety as it calculates and adjusts the position of the aircraft's control surfaces and manages engine thrust.

"SkyDrive's first flight in Osaka marks a historic milestone for autonomous aerial mobility," said Florent Chauvancy, Vice President of Flight Avionics at Thales. "We are proud to be associated with this adventure alongside SkyDrive and to contribute with FlytRise to making flights ever safer and more sustainable."

(article source: Thales / editor: Anton van Rijsbergen)
(image source: © Skydrive, via Thales)