Meet George Jetson! Toyota is developing a flying car

By Gary Elinoff, contributing writer   

A group of Toyota engineers have volunteered their time to work as an outside group called Cartivator to develop a flying car, designated as the Skydrive. Toyota’s investment is minimal at about $350,000, but it’s expected that the giant company’s imprimatur will add gravitas to the project. It’s expected that Skydrive will be ready to take its first manned flight in 2018, and the plan is for a high-flying public debut at the start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Toyota hopes to offer the vehicle to the public in 2023.

Depiction of the Skydrive. Image Source: Cartivator.

What is a quadcopter?  

Unlike other entries into this field, which can be described as airplanes with wheels, the Skydrive in flight is more like a helicopter, or more specifically, a quadcopter. 

A quadcopter is a helicopter with four rotors. Two rotate clockwise, and the other two rotate counter-clockwise. Control is achieved by varying the speed of the rotors relative to each other. This is similar to many commercially available drones now on the market. 

Of course, one of the great advantages to being a quadcopter is that no runway is needed for takeoff. Just the thing for commuters. Is the expressway jammed bumper to bumper for as far as the eye can see? No problem for Skydrive. From a dead stop, you deploy and engage your rotors, and up into the sky you ascend. Then, with an adjustment of your rotors, you attain forward flight, and away you go, leaving the gridlocked terrestrials behind to waste time and gasoline while they stew in their juices. 

OK, so it probably won’t really be like that. In reality, agencies like the FAA and NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) will probably set up lots of rules on where and how such vehicles will be allowed to operate. But for now, regulations don’t even contemplate the possibility of flying cars, even though the technology is rapidly becoming reality. So we can still dream big, or small, as in the Skydrive’s case.

Taking a closer look at Cartivator  

Skydrive is compact, 9.5 feet long, 4.3 feet wide, and only 3.5 feet tall. The vehicle is designed for one person only, who sits in a reclining position, just like a racecar driver. The top speed for flight is expected to be just over 60 mph, and it’s not designed to be a high flier, with a ceiling of about 33 feet. Oddly enough, it travels faster on the ground than it does aloft, at a maximum speed of just under 95 mph on its three wheels. 

Skydrive from multiple viewing perspectives. Image Source: Cartivator.  

When they start becoming available, though, the skies may quickly start to get crowded, because as you might expect, Toyota is not alone in its efforts. According to the BBC, Uber expects to test flying cars for its customers by 2020. Others, including industry powerhouse Airbus, have also expressed interest in following suit. And Massachusetts-based Terrafugia may be even closer. Its Transition car that converts to a sport airplane has already received extensive testing along with approvals and waivers from regulatory agencies that will allow it to be sold and operated (with appropriate user licensing) in the U.S., with first delivery expected in 2019.  

The company is now developing its TF-X flying car with vertical take-off capability similar to Toyota’s concept. Terrafugia is also working with international regulatory agencies to help create the new certification standards that such vehicles will need to meet.  

Given all this activity on both technical and regulatory fronts, the plans that Toyota has for its Skydrive no longer seem like a cartoon fantasy or distant future. They may actually be coming to a road near you within a decade.