Honda enters the next-generation mobility "eVTOL" market! "Flying car" development battle, is there a chance for Japan to win?

Honda is developing a hybrid model that uses a gas turbine engine and a battery. First, a pilot-operated aircraft will begin flight testing in the United States in 2023, and sales will begin in 2030. After that, it plans to develop a fully autonomous aircraft.

EVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing), which is called a flying car, is undergoing intense development competition around the world for practical use. [Photo] eVTOL around the world This autumn, Honda announced that it is working on development, and suddenly it is attracting attention. The future market is approaching the possibilities of new mobility, which is said to be worth 30 trillion yen! ■ There are two types of eVTOL "There are various types of "flying cars" in one word. ``eVTOL'' is currently under development," says Masaru Nakano, Advisor (former professor) of Keio University Graduate School of System Design and Management Research Institute. eVTOL is an abbreviation for "electric vertical take off and landing", which translates directly into an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Although it is generally called a flying car, it often does not have the function of traveling on the road. In Japan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has put up three keywords, "electric, automatic (steering), and vertical takeoff and landing," but it is said that they are not clearly defined worldwide. In fact, Honda is developing a hybrid eVTOL that combines a gas turbine engine and a battery, and at this stage there are many aircraft that are assumed to be piloted. "The eVTOL can be broadly divided into a 'multi-copter type' with multiple propellers like a drone, and a 'fixed-wing type' like an airplane," Nakano explains. “The multicopter type cannot fly very far, and the maximum speed is about 100 kilometers per hour. However, the aircraft is compact and has a simple structure. If you have a fixed wing, you can fly long distances at high speed (200 to 300 kilometers per hour).However, because the aircraft is large and complicated, it requires a wide range of knowledge and know-how in aeronautical engineering. There will be tens of millions to hundreds of millions of yen.”

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