iscover
Air racing series Airspeeder has secured what it says is a world-first certification for a manned electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) racing aircraft.
The Alauda Aeronautics Mk4 has been given CASA approval, with Airspeeder hailing it as the “world’s first experimental flight certification for a racing eVTOL”. Described as a “next-generation racecraft”, the Mk4 is set to be unveiled later this year.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
“CASA’s approval of the Alauda Aeronautics Airspeeder Mk4 takes the racecraft from concept and testing to a fully constructed and flight-ready vehicle. Engineered with expertise drawn from Ferrari, McLaren, Airbus and Boeing, the Mk4 is the first of its kind in Australia and the world,” the firm said in a press release.
“More than certification alone, this milestone demonstrates that flying car racing is no longer science-fiction but a tangible reality, fusing aerospace innovation with the excitement of sport to define the future of advanced mobility.
“The road to obtaining these major credentials has been thorough, highlighted by key milestones and successes. To date, the Airspeeder team has constructed more than ten aircraft from the ground up, and has trained seven pilots through their Airspeeder training program.
“Currently working on the fourth generation vehicle, the team has successfully completed over 400 test flights with the Mk3, including tri-vehicle races on aerial circuits where multiple speeders competed for victory using Augmented Reality racetracks.”
According to Airspeeder’s co-founder, Matt Pearson, a major innovation employed by the company is its AI Forcefield feature, billed as a “distinctive shared-control system that guarantees real-time safety among high-speed vehicles”.
“This is the Formula 1 of robotics, where safety, autonomy, and edge AI meet real-world speed. We’ve created a sport that solves real engineering challenges and accelerates the future of mobility through racing,” he said.
John Roese, global chief technology officer and chief AI officer at technology partner Dell Technologies, said Airspeeder is a “proving ground for the next era of intelligent, autonomous mobility”.
“Each Airspeeder racecraft is essentially a flying AI PC – capturing, processing, and acting on massive streams of data in real time. Dell Technologies delivers the compute and edge infrastructure behind every race,” he said.
Airspeeder already flies its existing racing aircraft, the Alauda Airspeeder Mk3, in competitions, piloted by former Formula 1 and Formula E driver Bruno Senna.
