SkyDrive Selected Thales to Provide Flight Control System
for Its eVTOL, the “SKYDRIVE”
PARIS and TOYOTA, Japan, June 21, 2023 – SkyDrive Inc. ("SkyDrive"), an eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, today announced at the Paris Air Show 2023 that the company has selected Thales to provide flight control system for its production eVTOL,
the “SKYDRIVE” (*2).
⚫ By 2050, urban populations are set to more than double, with 7 out 10 of the
world’s inhabitants living in cities. New forms of mobility will emerge and electrical
Vertical and Landing (eVTOL) will be part of the solution, with around 40,000 such
aircraft flying by 2035.
⚫ SkyDrive, a pioneer of eVTOL in Japan, has selected Thales’s FlytRise flight control
system to equip its future three-seat zero emission eVTOL aircraft, the “SKYDRIVE”
⚫ Thales’s proven and certifiable solutions will support SkyDrive’s ambitions,
securing the wings of tomorrow’s urban mobility
From left, Tomohiro Fukuawa,SkyDrive Inc. Chief Executive Officer and Jean-Paul
Ebanga, Thales VP Flight Avionics
© SkyDrive
With ground traffic congestion and associated pollution becoming a major concern in
cities around the world, eVTOL aircraft represent a disruptive solution to mobility
challenges.
With the mission of “taking the lead in the once-in-a-century mobility revolution,”
SkyDrive is developing eVTOL aircraft to create a future where everyone has access to
eVTOL as their daily transportation. SkyDrive has been selected to participate in
Advanced Air Mobility “Smart Mobility Expo” Project at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan
and the company aims to fly its "SKYDRIVE" eVTOL aircraft at the Expo. Designed to be
flown with one pilot and two passengers on board for intra-city flights, the “SKYDRIVE”
requires flight control solutions securing safe flights above populated areas.
Flight control system is one of the key elements of eVTOL aircraft. Calculating and
adjusting the position of the aircraft's control surfaces and managing engine thrust,
the fly-by-wire system is a critical element of flight safety.
Thales pioneered Fly-by-wire solutions in the 1980s with the first installation on Airbus
A310. Since then, more than 12,000 aircraft have been equipped with Thales solutions.
Today, Thales FlytRise materializes a new generation of flight controls, offering the
“SKYDRIVE” the combined benefits of proven experience and adaptation to eVTOL
requirements, in particular lightness, compactness, and autonomy-readiness.
SkyDrive selects Thales for flight control system
SkyDrive, a Japanese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer, announced at the Paris Air Show 2023 that Thales has been selected to provide the flight control system for their production aircraft, the “SKYDRIVE.” With the official unveiling of the aircraft at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, the three-seat zero-emission “SKYDRIVE” will be flown with one pilot and two passengers on board for intra-city flights. As cities become increasingly congested, eVTOL aircraft look to provide a disruptive mobility solution. Thales’s FlytRise flight control system, which provides proven experience and adaptation to eVTOL requirements, will secure safe flights above populated areas.
