The Revolution in Urban Commuting is Here! SkyDrive SD-05 - The Latest Taxi that Doesn’t Need Roads

Today I present to you a flying marvel. Or a prospective death trap. Whichever it turns out to be, it will surely be a spectacle. It’s called the SD-05, and it has as many propellers as a tarantula has legs. Eight. Yes, you heard right. Eight. They are probably there to ensure it doesn’t just fall out of the sky, although I'm not entirely convinced yet.

SkyDrive, a manufacturer hailing from Japan, has unveiled a blueprint for an electric aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL)

The SD-05, which sounds like a failed Stormtrooper from Star Wars, weighs in at over 500 kg and has two seats. I can imagine they're not overly spacious. Your knees would be closer to your chin than in a Smart Car. You'll probably be reaching for a "comfort barf bag" within minutes of takeoff.

It’s currently under development, which I hope means a horde of brainy people in white lab coats and safety goggles are running around a lab somewhere, desperately trying to work out how to keep it in the air for more than half an hour. I imagine there's a giant clock on the wall, ominously counting down the seconds.

Now, the manufacturer is quite proud of their new electric steed. They boast that it can hit speeds of up to 100 km/h. That's enough to lose a police pursuit, unless they've got a Falcon or an actual Peregrine. Then you're stuffed.

But here's the snag, or as I see it, the potential for hilarity: the battery life. Thirty minutes. I've had longer conversations about the weather with the postman. So you'll be cruising along, probably above some nice city landscape, and then... thud. Better hope there's a charging point on the nearest rooftop.

Now, despite my frivolity, the SD-05 does have some pretty neat potential. Besides aspiring to be the fastest taxi in the vertical lane, it’s also aiming to provide services for the medical field. Like a flying ambulance. That’s all well and good, but let's hope the patient isn't too far away, or we'll have the first mid-air patient transfer in history.

Intriguingly, this aerial contraption is an offspring of another. Its predecessor, the SD-03, apparently had an easier time at school, passed all its tests, and even got a certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism of Japan. I assume the SD-05 is suffering from a bit of younger sibling syndrome, always trying to outdo its older brother.

In conclusion, we're standing at the precipice of a new age of transport, and the SD-05 is about to boldly step off that cliff. Hopefully, it remembers to fly.  Where we once looked to trains, trams, and buses, we may soon look to the skies. How successful this shift will be remains to be seen. I imagine the first few weeks will be chaos. You'll have more people on rooftops than on the streets, waving their phones around trying to hail a flying taxi.

But, like all new things, we'll get used to it. We'll adapt. We'll have to, especially when we run out of excuses for being late to work. "Sorry boss, my taxi ran out of battery" isn't going to fly for long... or will it?

So, here's to the SD-05, the flying taxi/ambulance/oversized drone that's set to revolutionize city travel. Get ready to clutch your knees in a white-knuckle ride through the city skies. It’s bound to be a thrill.