Boeing Tests Autonomous Flying Taxi

Getting from point A to point B could be very different in the coming years. There are myriad self-driving car projects, but Boeing has set its sights higher — a few thousand feet higher. The company has completed the first test flight of its flying taxi, which Boeing calls an autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV). It didn’t fly for long, but it’s still a step in the right direction. Maybe we’ll get those flying cars yet.

The PAV project comes from the Boeing NeXt division, which handles all the firm’s urban air flight projects. NeXt commissioned Being subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences to design the aircraft, which is 100 percent electric and capable of vertical takeoffs and landings (VTOL). That’s essential for use in a city as there aren’t runways available on every street corner.

Boeing NeXt says the aircraft has a maximum theoretical range of 50 miles (80 kilometers) before it needs to recharge its batteries. The airframe integrates two different propeller systems. There are four propellers on the frame near the bottom that handle the takeoffs and landings. These also help control the craft’s altitude. The small wings and rear-facing propeller add lift and forward propulsion to the equation.

The demo video is short but slickly produced. Boeing shows the PAV from various angles, and then the big moment arrives. The craft lifts off the runway, hovers in place for a few seconds, and sets back down. While it may look like there’s someone at the controls, that’s just a dummy. The PAV doesn’t even have controls.

The goal, at least theoretically, is to use contraptions like this to ferry people around a city. It needs more landing space than your typical car parking space, but it could be feasible. The PAV is 30 feet (9.1 meters) long and 28 feet (8.5 meters) wide.

Boeing NeXt is engaged with regulators to evaluate the way systems like the PAV could work in the future. Currently, US regulators don’t even allow unmanned aircraft to deliver packages, os carrying people is a long way off. Boeing is looking at cargo transports as well. The cargo air vehicle (CAV) has a similar design, but it can haul as much as 500 pounds (228 kilograms) around an urban area. Boeing plans to start test flights of the CAV later this year.

Continue reading

Boeing’s Second Starliner Test Flight to Launch in July, NASA Says

Boeing has been toiling throughout the pandemic to get its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft ready for a do-over test flight, and NASA believes that will happen next month.

Boeing Starliner Test Flight Scrubbed Again Following System Anomaly

The company has announced yet another launch cancellation, this time thanks to a faulty fuel valve.

Boeing and NASA Put Starliner Launch on Indefinite Hold Following Technical Issues

After scrubbing the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission on Tuesday, Boeing has opted to remove the spacecraft from the launchpad for further testing rather than attempt another launch right away.

Boeing Is Still Struggling to Fix Latest Starliner Glitch In Time for Launch

Boeing was supposed to be riding high on the success of its long-delayed Starliner spacecraft right now, but the launch was called off again last week. At the time, Boeing only said there was a problem with "unexpected valve position indications," but the extent of the issue is more severe than initially reported.