- Japan-based SkyDrive has completed its first public manned flying car test on Aug. 25.
- The SD-03 successfully cruised around the test field for four minutes with a pilot.
- Three days after the test flight, SkyDrive announced that the company raised around $36.6 million in a Series B round of funding.
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The idea of a flying car is no longer as futuristic as it sounds: Japan-based SkyDrive has completed its first public manned flying car test.
The flying SD-03 demonstration took place on Aug. 25 at the Toyota Test Field in Japan, where SkyDrive develops its products, according to the company’s news release. This occasion also serves as the country’s first public manned flying car test, which took place two years after SkyDrive was formally launched, and seven years after the start of the flying car development under Cartivator, SkyDrive’s founding company and joint developer.
SkyDrive’s YouTube debut of the flight demonstration passed the one million view mark within three days of posting. And three days after the test flight, the company announced on a news release that it had raised around $36.6 million in a Series B round of funding.
According to the SkyDrive, the goal is to be approved for flights outside of the test field before the end of the year.