The flying machine of the future took off for the first time. Volar flying craft

A new UK start-up has successfully conducted flight tests of its astonishing aircraft, which is said to be not a flying car, but a new type of vehicle.

The new startup has completed its maiden flight of what could be the transport of the future. Flying cars and flying taxis, known in the industry as eVTOL, or electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, have been developed over the years. Companies like Porsche, Hyundai, Boeing and others are working on various projects, but they seem to be in no rush to get them done.

Flying taxis still seem like something far-fetched, and this is an idea for the future. The flying city vehicle concepts that the companies have unveiled either look very odd or look and feel like a helicopter or a smaller airplane rather than a car. They are also large compared to a car, very expensive and only safe to fly if the driver is a pilot.

Bellwether, a new UK start-up, is making a big splash in the aviation industry after successfully completing the maiden flight of its massive prototype aircraft. They say, “This is not a flying machine, this is a new type of machine,” and they call it Volar. Volar is an impressive project that, if we’re lucky, could lead to the aircraft of the future. In design, technology, looks, size and value, Volar hopes to succeed where others have failed.

How four college students created the perfect flying boat

Volar was created by four students from the Department of Intellectual Mobility at the Royal College of Art in Great Britain. Working painstakingly, the four young students have come a long and arduous journey to bring their vision to life. They developed designs, electronics, conducted simulation tests, built clay models, CAD models, and refined their designs. By 2019, they officially founded Bellwether Industries and began partnering with the right people in the flying car industry.

Volar can take off and land vertically and has a hidden propulsion system. The car is compact, individual, scalable for a cheap sale. Designed for urban use, it is completely electric, produces almost no noise and produces zero emissions. The project is based on another project that the team has been working on for years – a hovercraft or hovering machine, which they called the Gazelle.

Bellwether is just beginning its journey. The car they unveiled is a scale model so it is currently more in the drone category, but they are determined to build the real thing and watch it take to the skies. The team has been working behind closed doors on flight tests for the past year. They have set themselves an ambitious goal of producing flying cars worldwide in all cities by 2030. They want to do it for less than buying a car. “Anyone should be able to fly,” says Bellwether. It remains to be seen whether this dream will come true.