Uber will test its flying taxis in Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Australia - Uber has chosen the third test city to join Dallas and Los Angeles for its flying taxi trials: Melbourne, Australia. The third location was supposed to be Dubai, but negotiations fell through and prompted the company to look for another site for trials outside the US. Uber considered Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paris, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Tokyo and Sydney. In the end, Melbourne won, writes Mariella Moon for Engadget.com. Continue reading original article

The Intelligent Aerospace take:

June 12, 2019- UberAir test flights are planned to start in Melbourne starting in 2020 with the aim of moving people from the city's international airport to a shopping center approximately 12 miles away. Engadget's Moon notes that the drive typically takes 25 minutes with the "flying taxi" making the trip in 10 minutes, though passengers will have to get themselves to the landing pad.

Uber partner Bell Helicopter debuted its "Nexus" air taxi design at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Team Nexus, consisting of Bell, Safran, EPS, Thales, Moog and Garmin, are collaborating on Bell’s VTOL aircraft. Bell will lead the design, development and production of the VTOL systems. Safran will provide the hybrid propulsion and drive systems, EPS will provide the energy storage systems, Thales will provide the Flight Control Computer (FCC) hardware and software, Moog will develop the flight control actuation systems and Garmin will integrate the avionics and the vehicle management computer (VMC).

Related: Bell Helicopter unveils 'Nexus' air taxi at CES

Related: Uber defines Uber Elevate mission, vehicle requirements

Related: Where's my flying car? Coming in for a landing soon

Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace