Hover (flying taxis)

2022: Certification Start

The Russian company Hover on November 7, 2022 announced the start of certification of unmanned air taxi. Commercial flights are scheduled for 2025.

According to TASS, the general director of Hover Alexander Atamanov, specialists from the Moscow Aviation Institute also participate in the preparation of the documents necessary for certification.

Hover air taxi
Photo: Hover

Шаблон:Quote 'This is a short story that can take several years. However, we are confident that air taxi will be available for commercial use by 2025, he added. By early November 2022, Hover continues to work on a model of unmanned air taxi. The device is equipped with vertical take-off and landing technology. It is capable of rising to a height of 150 meters and accelerating to 200 km/h. The battery lasts for 40 minutes. The taxi capacity is two passengers up to 300 kg.

You can recharge the battery in eight hours from a standard 220-volt outlet and in 40 minutes from a more powerful industrial device. For takeoff and landing, Hover has enough regular parking space for the car.

Earlier, Alexander Atamanov suggested that the cost of an air taxi flight could be approximately 200 rubles per kilometer (the price consists of the cost of electricity, rental sites, maintenance and other factors), and the route from the Kremlin to Moscow City (about 5.5 km) on the aircraft will take 20 minutes.

According to Atamanov, by the beginning of November 2022, the company is also working on a new version of air transport with improved flight safety parameters. The development consists of more than 90% of Russian and Chinese components, in connection with which the authors do not see threats to the development of the project against the background of the sanctions imposed against Russia, TASS notes.^[1]

2021: Testing starts in Moscow

In January 2021, testing of flying taxis began in Moscow. On the territory of the Luzhniki stadium, Hover drones are being tested, developed by Hoversurf in collaboration with the Kazan company MVEN (created and implemented a rescue system in Hover). These unmanned aerial vehicles are capable of transporting people and heavy cargo by air.

For experimental flights, a closed arena was used, since while such machines are prohibited from flying over the capital, the Popular Mechanics edition reports.

Testing of flying taxis started in Moscow

According to the founder of Hoversurf, Alexander Atamanov, passenger drones can be seen in the sky over Moscow in the spring of 2021. For tests, a special space will soon be allocated in Skolkovo, which will allow you to go beyond the closed arena.

Artamonov also said that drones will move without human participation in control. Specially developed systems will be engaged in the creation of the optimal route to deliver the passenger from the beginning to the end point, as well as independently take care of the safety of movement in the sky over Moscow.

He also added that the mayor's office Moscow "strongly supports" the startup and the common goal - the creation of a city of the future, where movement will be possible without traffic jams and traffic lights.

By January 2021, Hover is capable of taking off and landing in standard parking lots, so the drone does not need additional runway infrastructure.

During testing, a pre-production prototype of the device was used, equipped with electric fans for horizontal flight and traditional lifting propellers. With its help, the duplication of critical systems of the device was checked:

• Lift & Cruise flight mode, in which different groups of engines are responsible for takeoff/landing and horizontal flight,
• functioning of the firing parachute to rescue the drone and crew at ultra-low altitudes.^[2]

Notes