Boeing freestanding air taxi completes first test flight

A first prototype Boeing autonomous air taxi made its first flight to a US airfield Tuesday (Wednesday, NZT), marking a breakthrough in the company's vision for autonomous on-demand flight.

The plane took off, hovered and landed successfully, using all of its autonomous navigation and landing systems, according to a statement released by the Chicago-based aerospace giant.

This test marks a first step for Boeing's Aurora Flight Sciences subsidiary, which it acquired in 2017 for an undisclosed amount.

"It's what the revolution looks like, and it's thanks to the autonomy," said John Langford, President and CEO of Aurora Flight Sciences, in a statement. "Certifiable autonomy will enable silent, clean and safe urban air mobility."

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The aircraft, with a length of 30 feet (9.1 m), has a wingspan of 8.5 m and vertical rotors designed to fly over or fly up to 80.4 km. The company will then test the ability of the aircraft to fly from the front.

The vehicle is part of NeXt, a research and development division of Boeing, which works with government technologists and regulators to plan for the potential introduction of autopilot aircraft. This year, the company plans to test an unmanned cargo plane designed to carry up to 227 kg (500 lbs).

All this is part of a broader effort to reduce traffic in congested cities as society seeks to "pave the way for a secure and stress-free future of mobility in cities and regions of the world", said Steve Nordlund, managing director of Boeing NeXt, in the company's announcement.

Boeing is not the only company to want to build autonomous taxis: UPS, Intel Corp. and Airbus also have their own autonomous flight units.