An Augusta company is watching as a Japanese aeronautics company hits two recent milestones.
On April 9, SkyDrive, Inc. successfully conducted a demo flight of the SkyDrive SD-05 model of its air taxi at the Expo 2025 in Osaka.
Bravo Air, which provides charter jet service at Augusta Regional Airport, has been following the advances.
“I think it’s very exciting, because this is going to open up new realms of aviation and our ability to transport passengers in an innovative way in the future,” Pamela Davison, CEO of Bravo Air, told ABD. “I say it’s like the Jetsons have come to life. These air taxis are going to give us a lot more mobility and ability to help people get where they need to go quickly.”
Bravo Air and SkyDrive signed a letter of intent at the Fifth Annual Innovation XChange Forum last year for Bravo Air to buy five air taxis.
Less than two weeks after the demo flight, the company announced it began displaying a full-scale mockup in the Advanced Air Mobility Station pavilion at the expo. It allows visitors the opportunity to sit inside the aircraft. The model is the actual size, measuring almost 38 feet in length and width and just shy of 10 feet tall.
“Our eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) design embodies a vision for greater freedom of movement through easy, everyday access to the sky,” said Takumi Yamamoto, Design Director, in a news release. Through this design, we sought to achieve a strong balance between functionality and beauty, striving to create a form that will inspire the public to imagine the skies in years and decades to come. We hope this aircraft will create new possibilities and connections as we enter a new era of smooth and seamless everyday air travel.”
The company has also completed one step in the authorization necessary to build the aircraft in the U.S. The Federal Aviation Administration accepted the company’s type certificate (TC). A TC signifies the airworthiness of the design of the aircraft to be manufactured. The application was accepted in late April 2024.
Davison said these latest announcements move the air taxis from the planning and development stages to something tangible, and what was futuristic is now coming true.
“I haven’t personally seen the mockup yet, but I’m excited. I’ve seen the models that they’ve created, which are really cool. So, to be able to physically get inside and get a feel for what it’s going to be like is going to be very exciting. And I think it’s going to motivate a lot of people to really lean into this and consider it for future travel,” Davison said.
The air taxi has a range of nine miles on a full charge. It takes off and lands vertically and requires a small landing zone. The SD-05 holds three people: the pilot and two passengers.
When the agreement was signed last year, both companies said Augusta Regional’s installation of a charging station for electric aircraft was instrumental.
Davison said the aviation market is changing with innovation, with electric charging stations for aircraft making an impact.
“I think it’s wise to go ahead and start to bring in those types of stations, because that’s where the future is at,” she said. “Honestly, I think it is going to be like cars, and we’re going to see those charging stations at every airport in the future if things continue to move in this direction.”
Bravo Air and SkyDrive anticipate delivery of the air taxis in 2026, turning a 1960s cartoon into reality.
“Those little cars that we saw in the air for so long as cartoons have actually come out of the page and into real life,” said Davison. “I think it’s an exciting time for aviation, and really this is only the beginning. Once we get these prototypes developed and passed and into operations, I think it’ll just be the first of many iterations to come. It’s just a very exciting time.”
