SkyDrive

The three-seat vehicle is expected to achieve Japanese type certification in 2026

The private charter operator is based in Augusta, Georgia

SkyDrive and its partner Suzuki have begun building the first prototypes of the three-seat SD-05 eVTOL air taxi in Iwata City, Japan.

With the Indian subsidiary of its key investor. Suzuki, the Japanese company exhibited a scale-model of its three-seat eVTOL aircraft at a trade show in Gujarat state.

Japanese eVTOL aircraft developer SkyDrive says a Setouchi Islands tourism association has agreed to purchase an unspecified number of the company’s three-seat SD-05 air taxis for commercial use.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry has awarded SkyDrive 12.4 billion yen ($82.7 million) for the development of its three-seat eVTOL aircraft. 

The partners are targeting the start of series production for the three-seat, short-range aircraft of 100 units per year.

Japan-based SkyDrive now has pre-order agreements for its SD-05 aircraft from customers in Vietnam, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.

SkyDrive is embarking on a joint research project with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to study ways to estimate, evaluate, and reduce the noise produced by eVTOL aircraft.

The new preorders are for the three-seat version of the SD-05 eVTOL vehicle the Japanese manufacturer announced in June as a larger version of its original two-seat SD-05 model.