Kitty Hawk Cora: Google Co-founder Autonomous Flying Taxi

Last year, the start-up Kitty Hawk, funded by one of the founders of Google and the head of the Alphabet Holding, Larry Page, showed the public the prototype of a personal Flyer aircraft. It turns out that since October of last year the team has also been testing the Cora air taxi in New Zealand, but they have just told about the project.

Transport of the future

Cora is a two-seater fully electric aircraft-type device with 12 special screws for vertical take-off and landing. He will fly at an altitude of 150 to 900 meters, developing a speed of 180 kilometers per hour. Onboard an autopilot system is installed using three independent computers in case of unforeseen situations.

The wingspan of Cora is 11 meters, and one charge is enough for 100 kilometers of flight. This hybrid of the airplane and multicopter is code-named Zee.Aero. Similarly, another start-up was called Larry Page, but over time this project was transformed into operator Zephyr Airworks, which will promote the flying taxi.

What's next?

The team cooperates with the authorities of New Zealand and develops a legislative base for a new mode of transport. In Kitty Hawk, they plan to certify a flying taxi within three years and launch a commercial service in 2021.

By the way, the teaser on the official startup site hints at the fast release of the final version of the personal multi-copter Flyer.

Competitors

The Cora design reminded the German Lilium Jet and Uber Elevate unmanned aerial taxi. In Dubai, the Chinese unmanned drone EHang 184 and the 18-rotor Volocopter are also tested.

Sources: NYT , Kitty Hawk