Vahana’s first flight

An electric self-piloted vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft from Vahana has successfully completed its first flight.

The full-scale aircraft dubbed Alpha One, from A3 – an Airbus Silicon Valley operation, reached a height of five metres before descending safely on January 31 at Pendleton, Oregon, USA.

Its first autonomous flight took 53 seconds and the Alpha One completed another flight the following day, the Vahana project team reports.

It says the day was an historic one.

“Our aim has long been to design and build a single passenger electric VTOL self-piloted aircraft that will answer the growing need for urban mobility,” Vahana says.

“After two years of planning and building, we are thrilled to see our efforts culminate in successful flight.”

Development and further flight tests will continue.

Vahana aims to use MAGicALL California-based company motors soon.

The Alpha One Vahana aircraft is 6.2 metres wide, 5.7m long and 2.8m high.

Its take-off weight is 745kg.

Visit: vahana.aero for more information.