VIPs including the Governor of Yamaguchi, the Vice Chair of the Yamaguchi Assembly and the President of Suzuki Motor, see the SKYDRIVE fly over the ocean at 86 km/h
SkyDrive Inc. ("SkyDrive"), a leading compact eVTOL (*1) aircraft developer based in Japan, announced today the completion of a demonstration flight of its "SKYDRIVE" eVTOL aircraft (SkyDrive Model SD-05). The flight, held at the test site inside the Yamaguchi Kirara Expo Memorial Park, western Japan, was designed to simulate a scenic touring flight over the Seto Inland Sea.
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From left: Toshihiro Suzuki, President of Suzuki Motor Corporation; Tomohiro Fukuzawa, Founder and CEO of SkyDrive Inc.; Tsugumasa Muraoka, Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture; Toru Kawano, Vice Chairperson of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Assembly
The flight, which was witnessed by Mr. Tsugumasa Muraoka, Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Mr. Toru Kawano, Vice Chairperson of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Assembly, and Mr. Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President of Suzuki Motor Corporation, SkyDrive's official production partner, provided further confirmation of the aircraft’s technical maturity and the potential use of eVTOL for scenic tourist flights.
Demonstration Flight Details
The demonstration flight, which was flown without passengers or crew, simulated the future operational flows SkyDrive will use to provide tourist flights once SkyDrive’s aircraft is in service. Alongside the actual flight of the remotely piloted aircraft, the simulation included a run through of a seamless passenger journey conveying passengers arriving by car at the vertiport (takeoff and landing facility) straight to their eVTOL flight.
[First Flight]
- Date & Time: Around 8:00 AM, Monday, July 13, 2026
- Operation Mode: Autonomous control and remote piloting without a pilot on board
- Flight Results: Flight distance: 2 km (approx. 1.24 miles) / Flight time: 6 min 20 sec / Maximum speed: 86 km/h (approx. 53.4 mph) / Maximum altitude: 30 m (approx. 98.4 ft.)
[Second Flight]
- Date & Time: Around 11:05 AM, Monday, July 13, 2026
- Operation Mode: Autonomous control and remote piloting without a pilot on board
- Flight Results: Flight distance: 1900 m (approx. 1.18 miles) / Flight time: 5 min 42 sec / Maximum speed: 54km/h (34 mph) / Maximum altitude: 25m (82 ft)
Background and Objectives
SkyDrive is developing a compact eVTOL with the mission of "leading the once-in-a century mobility revolution" that will establish eVTOLs as a feasible option for intra-urban transportation and a regular feature of city life. To date, SkyDrive has flown its prototype aircraft more than 300 times in various environments, including flight test sites in Toyota City (Aichi Prefecture) and Yamaguchi City (Yamaguchi Prefecture), as well as at the Expo 2025 Osaka venue, Osaka Port, and, most recently, at Tokyo Big Sight in February 2026.
Future eVTOLs will contribute to society in various ways including the avoidance of urban traffic congestion, the post-disaster delivery of emergency relief supplies and emergency medical support, and the expansion of regional economies through the provision of novel tourism experiences. Today’s demonstration flight exercise, which simulated the seamless movements required to transit passengers arriving by road to a scenic eVTOL flight, helped confirm the feasibility of these new eVTOL-centered tourist opportunities.
Comment from Tomohiro Fukuzawa, Founder and CEO of SkyDrive Inc.
"I was proud and delighted to see today the successful completion of our demonstration flight here in Yamaguchi, a milestone that builds upon our previous flights at the Expo 2025, Osaka Port, and Tokyo Big Sight. I also am extremely grateful to our immensely supportive partners, including Governor Muraoka, Assembly Vice Chairperson Kawano, and President Suzuki of Suzuki Motor Company, for taking the time to visit our test facility and share this experience with us.
Today’s flight simulated a concrete example of how eVTOL will be integrated into future tourist experiences. These scenic flights are a key pillar of the commercial eVTOL services we plan for 2028. In our simulation today, passengers arrived by road, demonstrating the seamless, zero-wait time switch from road transport to eVTOL, a model case that showcases the potential of next-generation urban air mobility to drive tourism in various destinations. SkyDrive also looks forward to working with our railway company partners to deliver the same seamless transitions we saw today, showing how both road and rail travel will link smoothly into eVTOL departures.
With safety as our utmost priority, SkyDrive continues to make progress in our aircraft development and production. While some of our earliest use cases will be tourist flights, as demonstrated today, our ultimate goal is to create sustainable, wide-ranging eVTOL infrastructure that addresses diverse social challenges, boosts urban and regional economies, supports post-disaster relief, and provides emergency medical care."
About SkyDrive Inc.
SkyDrive is a Japanese compact eVTOL company aiming “to take the lead in the once-in-a-century mobility revolution”. Under SkyDrive’s future vision for urban transportation, flying in eVTOLs will become a regular part of city life. The company began testing eVTOL prototypes in 2014 prior to official incorporation in 2018. In 2019, SkyDrive became the first company to fly a crewed eVTOL in Japan. In 2025, the company successfully showcased the eVTOL "SKYDRIVE", the company’s first eVTOL product, with demonstration flights at the Osaka Expo witnessed by thousands of visitors over a one-month period. SkyDrive began production of “SKYDRIVE” in March 2024 at a plant owned by Suzuki Motor Corporation, SkyDrive's official production partner. SkyDrive has been working with civil aviation authorities in Japan and the US to obtain certification for “SKYDRIVE”, with the aim of launching the aircraft into service in 2028. SkyDrive is headquartered in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, and led by CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa, an engineer and entrepreneur.
For more information, please visit: https://skydrive.co.jp/en/
Editor’s Note:
(*1) “eVTOL” is an abbreviation for electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing. As the name suggests, eVTOL aircraft can take off and land without a runway. eVTOLs are powered by electricity and incorporate advanced, automatic, flight control technology.
(*2) Related press releases
SkyDrive Releases Onboard Footage of Demonstration Flights at Expo 2025 in Osaka
https://skydrive.co.jp/en/archives/16292
SkyDrive Completes First Demo Flights in Tokyo
https://skydrive.co.jp/en/archives/17702
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Contacts
Kaori Saito
Public Relations
SkyDrive Inc.
Email: info@skydrive.co.jp
https://skydrive.co.jp/en/contact
