Hey, Air Taxi! Why You Will Soon Hail a Cab to the Sky

The air taxi, much like self-driving cars and delivery drones, is one of those futuristic dreams that seem forever three years away. But recent progress made by leading industry players suggests the concept is finally, slowly, maturing to commercialization. The idea of an urban air taxi is pioneered by Silicon Valley startups that make eVTOLs--electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles. But compared to electric cars, battery-powered aircraft face bigger challenges on both technical and regulatory fronts, let alone the public's acceptance. On June 21, Archer Aviation, a California-based eVTOL startup traded on the New York Stock Exchange, said it had recently begun testing a prototype called Maker with a new configuration that supports "transition flight"--the transition between an aircraft being lifted by vertical propellers and being carried by the wings for horizontal movement.