Japanese eVTOL developer SkyDrive has announced a pre-order for up to five aircraft from South Carolina-based aerial charter service Austin Aviation. The news comes as SkyDrive looks to enter the US market, make the Palmetto State its new home, and create an entire network in advanced air mobility (AAM).
SkyDrive was officially incorporated in Japan in 2018 after four years of developing and testing flying car prototypes. The company garnered some attention in the eVTOL community after it completed a crewed test flight of its flagship aircraft in 2019.
SkyDrive has continued to develop its eVTOL ever since with the end goal of certification from traffic regulators in Japan (the JCAB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US. This past January, SkyDrive confirmed plans to enter the US market and set up an eVTOL development footprint in South Carolina.
This was followed by a debut of SkyDrive’s three-passenger eVTOL during the 2023 Paris Air Show, aptly named the SKYDRIVE (not the most original, but better than “flying car”). Last month, SkyDrive shared intentions to move its new eVTOL to the next phase of manufacturing with the help of Suzuki. A subsidiary was created for the sole purpose of eVTOL manufacturing at a portion of the Suzuki Group’s production facility in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
With Japanese eVTOL production in the works, SkyDrive is once again focusing on the US market to bring viable AAM to the US as well.
SkyDrive looks to establish eVTOL development hub in SC
According to SkyDrive, Austin Aviation Inc. has signed a pre-order letter of intent for the purchase of up to five SKYDRIVE aircraft in South Carolina. This is one of many collaborators in the state working alongside the Japanese eVTOL company, which also includes a network of local airports.
As part of a strategic alliance announced in September of 2022, SkyDrive and Volatus Infrastructure, LLC are working with airports and aviation operators throughout the state to create an operational AAM infrastructure strategy to eventually establish commercial eVTOL operations.
That being said, several development milestones remain to be met, but SkyDrive has plenty of industry support in its corner… at least in South Carolina. SkyDrive founder and CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa recently shared a similar sentiment:
We have received an overwhelming amount of support from local, regional and state organizations here in South Carolina to develop our technology and operations within the state. We are thrilled to be taking this next step of working more closely with all South Carolina stakeholders, with the ultimate aim of placing South Carolina at the forefront of the AAM infrastructure development in the US and making our aircraft more widely accessible in the future.
In addition to its new home base in Beaufort, South Carolina, SkyDrive says it will utilize the facilities of Austin Aviation’s parent company, Lowcountry Aviation Co., as needed. No timeline yet on when we might see a SKYDRIVE eVTOL in the air in the US yet.
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