The European Airbus has completed first flight trials of a promising urban air taxi prototype on May 3 in Donauworth, Germany. The first flight was unmanned with CityAirbus taxi tethered to the ground, Rotor & Wing International reports.

Drones usually make the first flight reliably tethered to the ground to exclude an accident if the control is lost. During such tests engineers assess the performance of the propulsion and flight control systems.

In the course of the tests CityAirbus took several takeoffs and landings. The aircraft was also checked in the hoovering mode. All tests were recognized to have been completed successfully. In the nearest future one more series of tests will be conducted, and then the aircraft will be moved to Manching where the flight envelope opening will be carried out in a restricted airspace.

Airbus has been implementing CityAirbus ground test program since February of this year. The electric CityAirbus taxi has been developing since 2015. CityAirbus is designed to carry from two to four passengers to a distance of up to 60 kilometers. The air taxi will fly at the cruise speed of 120 km/hr.

Meanwhile, Boeing NeXt electric air taxi completed its first flight in January of this year. The first flight was completed on the corporate site in Manassas, Virginia, and deemed to be a success.

Source: Nplus1

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