TOKYO - Japan is the latest in a growing number of countries turning flyings cars into a tangible reality. On August 5, a vehicle by Tokyo-based NEC Corporation took flight and hovered steadily for about a minute before gently setting down to earth again—a first for a Japanese company, write Meera Navlakha and Gavin Butler for Vice.com. Continue reading original article
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
Date Here-Vice.com editors went with a headline that read "Japan Has Built a Flying Car that Actually Works," though NEC Corporation isn't the first company to put an eVTOL capable of carrying people airborne. The Japanese company did find success, however, and showed its eVTOL aircraft making its maiden flight on August 5. The NEC eVTOL checks in with a 3.9 meters length, 3.7 meters width, and weighs about 150 kilograms. Like other eVTOL craft, the NEC aircraft (see the video below) created a bit of noise as it hovered about three meters above the ground. The Japanese government, according to Vice, aims to have unmanned vehicles delivering courier packages by 2023, with passenger travel taking place by the 2030s.
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Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace