Zach Lovering, Project Executive of Vahana, said in a press statement that "Today we are celebrating a great accomplishment in aerospace innovation".
According to him, "In just under two years, Vahana took a concept sketch on a napkin and built a full-scale, self-piloted aircraft that has successfully completed its first flight. Our team is grateful for the support we've received from A³ and the extended Airbus family, as well as our partners including MTSI and the Pendleton UAS Range ".
In just under two years, Vahana took a concept sketch on a full-scale, self-piloted aircraft that successfully completed its first flight.
Vahana may be the Sanskrit word for 'carrier', but there's nothing about the airbus' development at A³ (pronounced 'A-cubed') - its R & D center in Silicon Valley. It was first reported to the world media in 2016, and is meant to be a way to reduce the scourge of traffic congestion in densely-populated urban areas. Airbus apparently has grand plans for the Vahana, saying that it envisions the vehicle "being used by everyday commuters as a cost-comparable replacement for short-range urban transport like cars or trains".
While the company initially claimed it would be able to put Vahana in the sky by 2017, that never quite materialized. However, as it turns out, the company only missed its target by a few weeks, which means it was basically right in its assessment for the most part. Now that the first hover flights have proven to be successful, including the transitions and forward flight
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