Rolls-Royce unveils hybrid « flying taxi »

The « flying taxi » unveiled by Rolls-Royce could accommodate 4 or 5 people, with a range of 805 km

The « flying taxi » is coming soon: the British industrial group Rolls-Royce has unveiled its project to develop a hybrid electric vehicle that takes off and lands vertically, and could fly within five years.

The aerospace giant hopes to make a prototype of its « flying taxi » in the next eighteen months: it could potentially fly in the early 2020s. This electric aircraft will be able to accommodate four or five passengers, at a maximum speed of 322 km/h and with a flight capacity of 805 km.

We will see a similar product fly in three to five years, and we will demonstrate this system in two years.

The hybrid vehicle, which has already cost several million pounds in development, will use a conventional gas turbine supplemented by an electric system.

Rolls-Royce is also studying an all-electric product that is not as advanced as the hybrid « flying taxi ». There is an emerging market for all-electric aircraft but, for us, such a system cannot really meet today’s requirements.

– Hybrid propulsion –
« The « all-electric » is the means of navigating in a city (…) but to go from London to Paris, one will want a machine which makes it possible to traverse this interval. And it is hybrid propulsion systems that will occupy this market. ».

Rolls-Royce is not alone in the hybrid « flying taxi » market. Other groups, such as Uber, the « Kitty Hawk » project supported by Google, Lilium Aviation in Germany, Safran in France and Honeywell in the United States, are conducting research in the sector.

The aerospace sector’s shift towards electric propulsion is reminiscent of that of electric cars in the automobile sector: all-electric cars are gaining ground in terms of popularity and performance.

« Electric propulsion can create a disruption in the way engines are powered. Electric propulsion is not about to replace kerosene, but you should never say never.

Rolls-Royce’s flying taxi concept is actually a development platform for testing new technology.

With time, we have more electrical capacity for larger and larger aircraft – and that’s really what we’re thinking about today. We are in a process of learning the technology we will need tomorrow.