Japan flying car group makes first manned outdoor flight

A flying car achieved the first manned outdoor flight in Japan on Friday morning in a trial by a local consortium of aviation and automobile businesses, a big step for a technology seen as serving remote islands and mountainous regions that lack transportation. The two-seater took off from an artificial island in the western Japanese city of Oita and traveled about 400 meters at an altitude of about 30m without a pilot controlling the plane. The vehicle, measuring 1.7m high and 5.6m wide, remained steady during a flight that lasted 3 minutes and 31 seconds. "I felt a slight vibration when the vehicle was hovering. But overall, I enjoyed the pleasant sensation of floating gently," said Hiroshi Kirino, who heads the consortium and was on the flight. "The test was a perfect success." The flight was the first outdoor manned test approved by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The consortium, called Okayama Kurashiki Mizushima Aero & Space Industry Cluster Study Group, or MASC, has been conducting unmanned tests since 2021. Expectations are high that the electric or hybrid vehicles, which do not require runways as they can take off and land vertically, will alleviate urban traffic congestion. Efforts are underway at home and abroad to set up legal frameworks allowing the use of such vehicles. In Japan, startups like SkyDrive and teTra Aviation have made successful unmanned and indoor manned flights. Overseas, Germany's Volocopter and the UK's Vertical Aerospace aim for commercialization in 2023 or 2024. <br/>