Israeli startup AIR launches its first eVTOL aircraft

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Israeli startup AIR launches its first eVTOL aircraft

LONDON, Oct. 19 : Reuters : Israeli startup AIR unveiled its first easy-to-operate electric, vertical takeoff and landing eVTOL aircraft that it aims to sell in the United States predominantly to consumer products beginning in 2024.

AIR has been working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority FAA for two years and expects to obtain certification for the AIR ONE, a two-seater, 970 kg 2,138 lb eVTOL, which will have a flight range of 110 miles 177 km by Chief Executive Rani Plaut told Reuters.

AIR raised seed funding of under $10 million last year and had been running unmanned tests of its vehicle. It is developing prototype models and expects to sell its eVTOLs for around the same price as an expensive car, Plaut said, without providing more precise details.

An increasing number of investors and aviation startups have piled into the hot air mobility space that is yet to be approved and the number of EVTOL startups has proliferated.

Air taxi firm Joby Aviation has gone public via a merger with a blank check company and Broadstone Acquisition Corp, which has pre-orders for up to 1,000 Avolon and American Airlines aircraft with launch customers Avolon and Vertical Aerospace - is going public via a merger with Blank Check.

Plaut said the difference with AIR is that it can be sold to consumers who can use its fly by intent software to fly without being fully trained pilots.

Our focus is entirely personal, he said. We're not talking about commercial flights, we're talking about people using this as they use cars. United States has a lot of open airspace. The United States makes it a suitable first market for the AIR ONE. Plaut said AIR expects demand will reach 15,000 vehicles a year.

AIR is raising additional funds to get through the FAA certification process, but has not disclosed how much.