SkyDrive SD-05 eVTOL 2026: Yamaguchi Test Flight, Speed, and 2028 Launch Plan

© Внешняя пресс-служба SUZUKI

Japan’s SkyDrive has moved past the concept-video stage into a working scenario for short tourist flights. At its Yamaguchi test site, the company ran a high-speed demonstration of its three-seat eVTOL: the aircraft took off vertically, covered roughly 2 kilometers — including a stretch over water — reached 86 km/h, and returned to its starting point. The flight lasted about six minutes and was repeated twice.

The route wasn’t chosen at random: it mimicked a sightseeing trip over the Seto Inland Sea. That’s an important distinction from the usual “flying taxi” talk. SkyDrive isn’t showing a mass replacement for the car just yet — it’s showing a niche where an eVTOL can make sense from day one: short hops over scenic, complicated, or congested routes where a road trip loses on both time and experience.

SkyDrive CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa said: “I hope this gave you a sense of how we can operate tours over the beautiful Seto Inland Sea in a way that respects the environment and the local community.”

In June, the company already reported stable flight at 100 km/h, and commercial service launch is targeted for around 2028 in Osaka and Oita prefectures.

SkyDrive won’t be competing with cars directly, but with helicopters, tour routes, ferries, and urban transport on congested corridors. The eVTOL’s strengths are vertical takeoff, electric propulsion, and a smaller noise footprint. Its weaknesses are certification, weather, infrastructure, seat cost, and passenger trust. SkyDrive already lined up a deal to supply 20 aircraft to Dubai — effectively the company’s first commercial contract.

SkyDrive is already flying fast enough to interest tourists. Now it needs to prove such flights can be run not just beautifully, but regularly.