eVTOLs
 

With some lithium sulfur batteries potentially on the horizon with 3x the energy density as lithium ion and 1000-4000 cycles of use, the applications of such lightweight power begins to open the doors. Ultralight aircraft has always been around, but the advantage of these drone style vehicles is hovering, vertical takeoff, low maintenance, better reliability, autonomous systems, etc.

On top of the motorcycle, I’ve always had an eye on flying, so this is appealing to see development of flying taxis and personal vehicles.

https://youtu.be/1YUv0AMq0x8

Since my other obsession is aircraft, I have always kept my eye on these. The "big drone" idea is an interesting one, but I'm not getting in anything that has all those spinning blades above my head and no protection, or that has less than a 2 hour range with reserve.

I am definitely not getting in a flying taxi that has no pilot present, or that I can't control myself. At least, not until there are 10s of thousands of proven hours.

I was thinking they will likely see big improvements in range with future batteries, but also with the designs once they can settle on something efficient. If I was making robo taxis then I would make the bottoms without landing legs, and I would just have the bottom round, so it could land in a concave receiver when it parks. This could allow the eVTOL to have blades that are below the passenger too.

I'm thinking it's a solution looking for a problem.

They will mostly be for entertainment like how ultralight aircraft are now. Larger versions will likely replace some small prop planes, and who knows from there.

Unlike other ultralights and light aircraft, there doesn’t need to be a runway, which could open the possibility of short travel by air to many more people.

It is worth noting that many small planes use leaded fuel still at levels that far exceed the levels allowed in cars pre 1996.