The market for flying cars, now known as electric air taxis, should continue to mature during this decade, soaring to $1.5 trillion globally by 2040, according to a Morgan Stanley Research study.
Air taxis are vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that use electric motors instead of jet engines. Designed to avoid the need for long runways, they have rotating wings and, in some cases, rotors in place of propellers.
Driving this trend is a confluence of technologies, including autonomous vehicles such as drones and self-driving cars, more efficient batteries and advanced manufacturing techniques.
It’s a market that should continue to mature during this decade and then boom globally. The autonomous urban aircraft market may be worth $1.5 trillion by 2040, according to a Morgan Stanley Research study. Another urban air mobility (UAM) study, by Frost & Sullivan, sees air taxis beginning in 2022 in Dubai and expanding with a compound annual growth rate of about 46% to more than 430,000 units in operation by 2040.
The business has the potential to significantly disrupt the landscape of urban mobility, and investors are pouring millions into commercialization efforts.They are attracted to the fact that electric air taxis have the potential to lower operating and maintenance costs dramatically.
Astro Aerospace Ltd. (OTC: ASDN) is the ONLY public pure play company globally that has a functioning technology in a working, full-scale prototype.
ASTRO’s vision is “Flight Made Easy”, to build and distribute the safest, most reliable and efficient autonomous, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles for the world market.
ASTRO’s mission is to create and distribute eVTOL aircraft that are safe, accessible, affordable and user-friendly.
The company’s solution is to commercialize our technology and sell it to the government and private sectors, so that it can be used for military operations, search and rescue, commercial deliveries, sight-seeing, personal flight, and more.
Currently, ASTRO has a working prototype that features a carbon fibre shell, and 16 independent rotors to enable flight. In the cockpit is a touch control system, allowing pilots to fly manually or switch to autonomous mode. Though there’s no confirmed release date as of yet, ASTRO foresees the vehicle to be used across a variety of industries – from personal, to agricultural to military uses and many in between.
The company recently announced the completion of their 1:6 scale eVTOL prototype testing program, culminating in hundreds of test flights over multiple aircraft. The Company is now shifting focus to production of their 1:2 scale prototype that is already under development and are targeting Q1 2022 to begin test flying. This milestone positions the Company to launch its next phase of scale prototype production, with Astro on schedule to complete its first full-sized aircraft by Q1 2024.
The primary objective for the 1:2 scale eVTOL prototype’s test flights will be to verify aerodynamics, control systems and transitional flight. Key amongst those systems is the Cavorite X5’s patented wing system that allows it to fly a portion of its route like a normal aircraft. This innovative vertical wing system rotates to reveal a series ducted fans allowing the aircraft to takeoff and land vertically. The wings close after upon minimum forward speed, maximizing the aircraft’s aerodynamic efficiency, safety, and operational flexibility.
Additionally, with eVTOL capability combined with high forward speed the Cavorite X5 will be ideally suited for medevac, disaster relief, cargo delivery, and other special missions.
Astro’s existing Alta and Elroy programs, combined with Horizon’s newly added Cavorite X5 is expected to better position the Company to pursue its commercialization approach through a horizontally integrated product offering that span from short range pure electric Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to longer range hybrid electric Regional Air Mobility (RAM) missions.
When it comes to investing, patience is key even when you’re investing in quickly evolving industries like Electric Vehicles.
