As a boy, JoeBen Bevirt, CEO of Joby Aviation, fantasized of flying cars. His dream is becoming reality with the launch of a new class of electric powered air taxis known as eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles), that can lift-off like a copter, fly up to 200 mph & go a distance of 100 miles, minus the noise of fuel-powered aircraft. Joby is now running test flights in Marina, CA, but Bevirt is not alone in his vision. Archer Aviation, a Silicon Valley company backed by automaker Stellantis and United Airlines, is testing its own eVTOLs over the farmlands of Salinas, CA. Archer & nearby Wisk Aero, with ties to aerospace giant Boeing Co. & Google co-founder Larry Page, are also racing to bring air taxis to market in the U.S. Joby’s formed a partnership to connect its air taxis with Delta Air Lines passengers, while Archer has a deal to sell up to 200 of its eVTOLs to United Airlines. eVTOLs have made enough regulatory inroads with the FAA to result in a new aircraft category called “powered lift,” a step that the Agency hasn’t taken since helicopters were introduced for civilian use in the 1940s. More regulatory hurdles must be cleared before air taxis can carry passengers in the U.S., making Dubai the likeliest place for eVTOLs to take commercial flight, perhaps by the end of 2025. If the ambitions of eVTOL pioneers are realized in the U.S., people will be able to hop in an air taxi to get to and from airports in NY & LA, in the next few years.
