Boeing’s Flying Car Has Taken Off

Aerospace giant successfully tests a passenger drone prototype
Rivals from Airbus to startups racing to build air taxis

A Boeing Co. flying car designed to whisk passengers over congested city streets and dodge skyscrapers completed its first test flight on Tuesday, offering a peek into the future of urban transportation the aerospace giant and others are seeking to shape.

A prototype of its autonomous passenger air vehicle completed a controlled takeoff, hover and landing during the test conducted in Manassas, Virginia, the maker of military and commercial jets said in a statement Wednesday. Propelled by electricity, the model is designed for fully autonomous flight, with a range of as much as 50 miles, Boeing said.

The Chicago-based plane maker and arch rival Airbus SE are among a slew of companies racing to stake a claim on flying cars and parcel-hauling drones, which have the potential to be the next disruption to sweep the aerospace industry. Boeing’s push was boosted by a 2017 acquisition of Aurora Flight Sciences, whose projects include a new flying taxi it is developing with Uber Technologies Inc.

Boeing CEO Sees Air-Taxi Prototype Ready for Takeoff Next Year

Others are also rushing rotorcraft concepts to market. Vahana, the self-piloting air taxi developed by A3, Airbus’s tech-centric Silicon Valley outpost, completed its first test flight last year. Intel Corp. and EHang Inc. are also testing their flying vehicles.

Morgan Stanley analysts, in their most bullish estimates, predict such technology could lead to a $2.9 trillion industry by 2040, while their most pessimistic view pegs the value at about $615 billion.

Boeing’s urban air mobility arm, Boeing NeXt, enlisted Aurora to design and develop the prototype. While Boeing didn’t say if the model is the one being developed for Uber, the ride-hailing company said separately Wednesday that the vehicle is on track to be an air taxi on the planned Uber Air network. Dallas-Fort Worth and Los Angeles will be the first U.S. cities in the aerial ride-sharing network, and commercial services may start by 2023, it said.

Boeing NeXt’s portfolio also includes a fully electric cargo air vehicle — designed to transport as much as 500 pounds — which completed its first indoor flight last year and is slated for outdoor testing this year.

The Birthplace of the Walkman Wants to Be First in Flying Cars

Future flights of the 30-feet-long and 28-feet-wide PAV prototype will test forward, wing-borne flight and the transition phase between vertical and forward-flight modes, according to the Boeing statement. The company will also continue testing to advance safety and reliability of the aircraft, it said.

Boeing wins $2.46 billion U.S. defense contract: Pentagon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Boeing Cowon a $2.46 billion U.S. defense contract for the production and delivery of 19 P-8A Poseidon long-range anti-submarine warfare and surveillance aircraft and other equipment, the Pentagon said in a statement on Friday.

Ten of the planes are for the U.S. Navy, four are for Britain and five are for Norway, the Penatgon said.

The Boeing jet that may take you to your next business meeting at supersonic speeds

Boeing is partnering with Aerion to develop a supersonic jet that will bring back the luxury of faster-than-sound business travel.
The AS2 aircraft, designed to fly at Mach 1.4 or approximately 1,000 miles per hour, is slated for its first flight in 2023.
Lockheed Martin and Airbus previously worked on Aerion’s AS2 supersonic business jet.

WASHINGTON — Boeing is partnering with supersonic start-up Aerion to develop a jet that will bring back the luxury of faster-than-sound business travel, the aerospace giant announced Tuesday.

The AS2 aircraft, designed to fly at Mach 1.4 or approximately 1,000 miles per hour, is slated for its first flight in 2023. Along with the partnership, Boeing said it “made a significant investment in Aerion” although the companies did not disclose financial terms of the agreement. That investment will help Aerion “accelerate technology development and aircraft design,” Boeing said.

“Through this partnership that combines Aerion’s supersonic expertise with Boeing’s global industrial scale and commercial aviation experience, we have the right team to build the future of sustainable supersonic flight,” Steve Nordlund, vice president and general manager of Boeing NeXt said in a statement.

GE Aviation is supplying its Affinity supersonic series of jet engines for AS2. Lockheed Martin and Airbus previously worked on AS2.

Boeing just unveiled a supersonic business jet 5:10 PM ET Tue, 5 Feb 2019 | 01:15

Boeing unveiled a rendering for a hypersonic passenger plane in June, which is the next speed class above supersonic. Boeing’s design was for a plane that could fly as fast as Mach 5, or about 3,900 miles per hour. Along with Aerion’s AS2, these plans are looking to bring back the luxuries of traveling on board the supersonic Concorde, which was retired 15 years ago. Several startups are racing to get next-generation supersonic prototypes in the air. But each must overcome the deficiencies of the Concorde, which was costly and limited in commercial use.

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