The successful test flight of Boeing’s autonomous aircraft is the first step towards making Uber Air a reality

Aurora Flight Sciences, a subsidiary of aerospace behemoth Boeing confirmed that it recently conducted the first test flight of its all-electric passenger aircraft. The successful test flight of the unpiloted air vehicle is the promising step towards making Uber Air a reality. The vehicle landed at the company’s test site in Manassas, Virginia after it took off vertically and hovered for a few seconds in the air.

It seems that the dream of autonomous, electric “flying taxis” flying from skyscraper to skyscraper for passenger’s conveyance is soon going to be a reality! It is going to unravel an entirely new form of urban mobility. However, there are many other aerospace companies pursuing the same dream and working towards some form of urban air taxi services. Boeing, being one of the largest aviation companies in the world, has the resources and the efficiency to launch air taxis sooner than later. It clearly has an edge over the others. Boeing’s efforts are incredible considering that there are no electric-powered aircraft in commercial operation today.

The technology requires an enormous amount of energy to fly a fully commercial autonomous aircraft and present battery tech doesn’t have the capacity yet to offer the power-to-weight ratio needed to achieve theliftoff. It will take years before the technology becomes mainstream.

The vehicle powered by an electric propulsion system was tested by Boeing’s futuristic NeXt division.