Japanese Developer SkyDrive Collaborates with JCAB and FAA to Bring the SD-05 to Market, Targeting 2026 for North American Expansion
by DRONELIFE Staff Author Ian J. McNabb
Japanese “flying automobile” eVTOL (electronic vertical takeoff and landing) developer Skydrive recently announced that the FAA had accepted their application for type certification for his or her three-seater “Skydrive” SD-05 model, marking a vital first step for its eventual arrival in American airspace. This was done via an arrangement with JCAB, the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau, and was accepted on April 28, 2024.
As a part of Skydrive’s efforts to expand into the North American market, they established an area subsidiary in 2023 and are actively looking for opportunities throughout the USA with a wide range of local partners. Skydrive hopes that they may give you the option to bring their eponymous eVTOL to market sometime after 2026, once they hope they may have received type certification from JCAB. The SD-05 Skydrive will probably be built in Iwata City, Shizuoka, Japan, in collaboration with Suzuki, and incorporates a maximum takeoff weight of 3100 lbs and a maximum range of as much as 15 km, with a targeted air speed of 100 km/hr.
Tomohiro Fukuzawa, CEO of SkyDrive, said, “Our development team has been working on each aircraft development and sort certification activities in parallel. We’re very grateful to the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau for supporting our application and searching forward to a successful FAA type certification. This collaboration allows us to advance our certification processes in each Japan and the USA concurrently. With the FAA’s experience within the certification technique of several eVTOLs and the JCAB already advancing the certification of our aircraft, we aim to work together to create a future where our eVTOL can operate commercially all over the world.”
Skydrive has turn into an area leader within the eVTOL world, with their first successful crewed test back in 2019. They will probably be presenting their product on the 2025 Advanced Air Mobility Expo in Osaka, Kansai, Japan. More information on the corporate and the SD-05 is accessible here.
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