MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian eVTOL flying car performs unmanned flight

The unmanned flight helped test the integration of essential aircraft systems

Eve Air Mobility, a subsidiary of Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer, has conducted the first flight of the full-scale prototype of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo state.

The unmanned flight helped test the integration of essential aircraft systems – such as the fifth-generation fly-by-wire concept – and rotors dedicated exclusively to vertical movement.

The aircraft performed a hover flight (remaining still in the air at a fixed point, maintaining constant altitude and position), which required precise control to balance lift and weight.

Henceforth, Eve will gradually expand testing until it achieves fully wingborne flight with the aircraft in 2026. “The prototype performed exactly as predicted by our models. With the data, we will expand the aircraft’s envelope and move forward with wingborne transition flight in a disciplined manner, increasing to hundreds of flights throughout 2026 and building the knowledge necessary for type certification,” Eve's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Luiz Valentini said.

According to the company's Chief Product Officer (CPO) Jorge Bittercourt, the flight demonstrates the aircraft’s reliability, efficiency, and simplicity. “We have validated critical elements, from our lift rotor architecture to the aircraft’s flight mechanics, and now we are moving on to the flight test phase with a focus on evolving the product's maturity,” he stated.

The aircraft project is funded by the Brazilian government’s innovation agency FINEP and has been allocated some R$37 million (around US$6,674,604) in subsidies.

The initiative positions Brazil at the forefront of urban air mobility. “This inaugural flight embodies Brazil’s strategy to lead the global transition to sustainable aviation, with cutting-edge technologies such as electric propulsion and artificial intelligence,” FINEP President Luiz Antônio Elias pointed out. (Source: Agencia Brasil)