FLY HIGH
Inside Britain’s first flying taxi AIRPORT – to host air-born cab ‘as quiet as fridge’ which will cut 90-min trips to 15
Watch footage of the air-born cabs taking to the skies
CONSTRUCTION on Britain's first ever flying taxi airport is underway with work set to be complete by early 2025.
The ambitious project will allow for innovative air-born cabs to pick people up and fly them across the UK in remarkably quick times.
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A 160 square metre passenger terminal is due to be created across from Bicester Aerodrome in the coming months on behalf of tech aces Skyports Infrastructure.
Dubbed a veriport - opposed to a standard airport - it will mark the first zone in Britain where vertically landing aircraft can safely take off and land.
Initial plans are for the site at Bicester Motion to be used as a testing area for the types of transport being developed - including flying taxis.
Bicester Motion said in a statement: “We’re proud to support this vertiport testbed as part of our strategic vision to integrate both traditional and vertical aviation operations from our airfield and boost pioneering future mobility discovery.
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“Once complete, it will be a critical facility for testing electric vertical take-off and landing flight operations, ground infrastructure, and air traffic management.
"And it will play a significant role in enabling the next generation of electric, low noise aviation in the UK."
Brains behind the plans, Skyports Infrastructure, are aiming to revolutionise short-distance, commercial travel through a number of fascinating projects.
One of the major ideas is a flying taxi.
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Hopeful developers are aiming to whisk travellers from Manchester to Leeds in record time – by soaring straight over the Pennines.
The crafts could even manage a trip from London's Heathrow airport to central Battersea in just 12 minutes.
Boeing’s incredible self-driving FLYING taxis with top speed of 110mph & hailed by app set to hit skies by 2030
A trip that could take up to 90 minutes by car if motorists are caught out by dodgy traffic.
Several versions are currently being worked on with most powered by propellers hooked up to electric motors.
This lets the Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing - or eVTOL - cruise at speeds of around 150mph.
Another key driving the success of these new forms of transport is their noise levels.
Noise pollution is a major issue with current aircrafts.
Helicopters are often seen as massive disturbances with the loud sounds of their propellers constantly whirring as they take off.
EVTOL's on the other hand are specially designed to keep all sounds at a minimum.
One company working on their own model, Vertical Aerospace, even told The Sun their copter makes less sound than the average fridge.
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Funding for the veriport is coming from a government backed scheme called Innovate UK Future Flight Challenge project.
Plans to start building the new infrastructure were given the green light back in August with construction just now underway.
It is hoped to be completed by early 2025, say Advanced Mobility Ecosystem Consortium who manage Skyports Infrastructure.
The consortium also work with a number other names in the eVOTL industry such as Vertical Aerospace.
Chief commercial and strategy officer, Michael Cervenka, added: "As a proud partner of the Advanced Mobility Ecosystem Consortium, Vertical Aerospace is excited to see this state-of-the-art vertiport come to life.
"Facilities like this are essential for enabling the seamless integration of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft into our airspace and helping people better understand the benefits they will bring.
"We look forward to supporting this effort with demonstration flights next year and together advancing the future of aviation."
Vertical Aerospace are leading the charge for air cabs with their flagship VX4 model.
FLYING TAXI VS CAR – THE JOURNEYS COMPARED
Here's how much time Vertical Aerospace reckons you'll save in a VX4...
Battersea to London Heathrow
Distance: 15 miles
- VX4: 8 minutes
- Road: 52 minutes
- Rail: 65 minutes
Miami airport to Fort Lauderdale
Distance: 22 miles
- VX4: 11 minutes
- Road: 80 minutes
- Rail: 60 minutes
Yumeshima Port to Osaka International Airport
Distance: 29 miles
- VX4: 9 minutes
- Road: 50 minutes
They hope that the luxury way to travel will soon become a common mode of transport.
Due to most flight paths being far less congested than roads, the flying taxis can bypass traffic and soar through the air at top speed with ease.
This is set to vastly improve the efficiency of travel - even if it costs more for the average motorist.
In fact Vertical Aerospace says they will be quite similar to a London cab in design and feel.
The exact plans for inside the cabin will depend on what taxi companies who buy the VX4 want it to look like.
But they'll all have a generally similar configuration that has room for a pilot, four passengers, and plenty of storage space.
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Each model will have a helicopter-style body where the pilot and passengers sit with four electric propellers on top.
Vertical Aerospace is currently testing out the aircraft in just the Cotswolds but the new veriport will allow them to move closer to big cities.
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