Today at 09:05
Photo from Ukrinform–UATV
Rolls-Royce plans to release a new flying taxi that could carry four to five passengers.
The British company, which already makes engines for planes, helicopters, and ships, is joining a growing list of companies racing to build the air-cars of the future, including Airbus, U.S. ride- sharing firm Uber and a range of start-ups including one backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, called Kitty Hawk.
The air-taxi will be able to lift off and land vertically, fly up to 800 kilometers and go as fast as 250-kilometers-per-hour. It’s based on existing technology and could be used publicly or privately.
Rolls Royce plans to start production in the early 2020s. Its concept car is called EVTOL (Electric Vertical Take Off and Landing).
The concept vehicle will have wings that are able to rotate 90 degrees, enabling the vertical take off. Its wing propellers are to be rotated by electric motors.
It’s to have a hybrid electric engine, based on the M250 gas turbine, that will produce approximately 500 kilowatts of energy to power its six electric propellers.
The wing propellers could fold away once at cruise height to reduce the noise.
