New UK startup has successfully flight tested their amazing flying vehicle, they say it’s not a flying car, it’s a new kind of vehicle.
A new startup has completed its first flight of what could be the future of transportation. Flying cars and flying taxis, known in the industry as eVTOL, or electric vertical take-off and landing airplanes, have been in development for many years. Companies like Porsche, Hyundai, Boeing and others are working on different projects but don’t seem in a rush to deliver.
Flying taxis always look like something wacky and an idea for the future. The concepts of flying urban vehicles presented by the companies look very strange or look like a helicopter or a smaller plane rather than a car. They are also big compared to a car, very expensive, and can only be driven safely if the driver is a pilot.
Bellwether, a new British startup is making a lot of noise in the aviation industry after successfully completing the first flight of its flying vehicle ladder prototype. They say “it is not a flying car, it is a new type of vehicle,And they call him Volar. Volar is an impressive project that could hopefully lead to future flying vehicles. In terms of design, technology, appearance, size and cost, Volar hopes to succeed where others have failed.
How four students created the perfect flying machine
Volar was created by four students from the Intelligent Mobility Department of the Royal College of Art in the UK. Working meticulously, the four young students took the long and difficult road to bring their vision to life. They developed designs, electronics, performed mock tests, built clay models, CAD models and perfected their designs. In 2019, they officially founded Bellwether Industries and started teaming up with the right people in the flying car industry.
Volar can take off and land vertically and has a hidden propulsion system. The vehicle is compact, personal, can be resized to be sold inexpensively. It’s supposed to be city-friendly, it’s fully electric, makes almost no noise, and produces net zero emissions. The project is built on another project the team worked on for years, a hovercraft or hovering car they called Gazelle.
Bellwether is just beginning his journey. The vehicle they presented is a scale model, so at the time it was more in the category of a drone, but they are determined to build the real one and see it take flight. The team has been working behind closed doors on flight tests for the past year. They have set themselves the ambitious goal of deploying flying cars around the world in every city by 2030. They want it to be as cheap as buying a car. “Everyone should be able to fly“Bellwether says. Whether this dream will come true is just guesswork.
Source: Bellweather, Bellweather / Facebook
