The flying car made for the Tokyo Olympics performed well in the tests

Although the most anticipated event for athletes around the world has been postponed, the flying structure is still ready for deployment.

In 2017, the Japanese launched a flying car project aimed at using a structure to ignite the flame at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. One of the world’s most prestigious sporting events was postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus epidemic, giving the engineering team an extra year to perfect the product. The first test was held in Japan last week.

A statement issued by Toyota’s SkyDrive engineering team reported that a demonstration flight of the SD-03 model took place on August 25 at the Japanese automaker’s 10,000-square-foot test track. It was the first public airplane demonstration in Japanese history.

“Two years after the formation of SkyDrive, we are pleased to announce that Japan’s first flying car test has been completed. Our goal is to make flying more accessible to people. In 2023, we will take our social experiment to a higher level, accelerating technological and business developments, ”said Tomohiro Fukuzawa, CEO of SkyDrive.

According to information released by Toyota, the flying vehicle circled the area for roughly four minutes, with human force control and support from a computer control system. SkyDrive says the aircraft is the world’s smallest eVTOL (electric air take-off and landing) device. Here’s the twist in the story: it’s not really a car, it’s a mini plane.

The rotors of the structure, placed in four positions, are driven by eight electric motors. SkyDrive says they plan to test the machine this year and will even test it off the test track at the end of the year.