--- title: "Boeing’s Flying Car Just Completed Its First Test Flight" description: "Boeing just announced it successfully completed the first ever test flight of a prototype of its autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV)." date: "2019-01-23" modified: "2019-01-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-passenger-air-vehicle-flying-car" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Boeing" - "Space" tags: - "boeing" - "flying car" - "flying taxi" - "the digest" --- # Boeing’s Flying Car Just Completed Its First Test Flight ![Boeing just announced it successfully completed the first ever test flight of a prototype of its autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV).]() *\Image: Boeing\* ## Passenger Air Vehicle On Tuesday, aerospace company Boeing completed the first ever test flight of its autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV) — a flying car, basically — at a facility in Virginia. The prototype, which sports wings and a rear propeller, completed a takeoff and hovered to test its "autonomous functions and ground control systems," according to an [official press release](). In other words, the world is one step closer to a practical flying car. ## Autonomous Flying Cars The PAV was designed by Boeing research subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences, and is part of Boeing NeXt, the company's urban air travel division.Other Boeing NeXt projects include an electric unmanned cargo air vehicle that can carry up to 500 pounds (227 kilos). Boeing's flying car is 30 feet (9 meters) long and has a range of up to 50 miles (80.5 kilometers). Notably, it will mostly fly itself. Boeing says it will eventually be capable of fully autonomous flight from takeoff to landing. "Certifiable autonomy is going to make quiet, clean and safe urban air mobility possible," CEO of Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Science John Langford said in the press release. ## Beautiful Whips The race to bring the flying car to the mainstream is only starting to heat up. Vahana, a subsidiary of aerospace giant Airbus, [completed its first test flight]() of its flying car last year. A number of [smaller]() [aerospace]() companies are also working on competing models. We're inching ever closer to a future in which individuals will be able to take to the skies on board flying cars. Once the tech is thoroughly tested, its future will be in the hands of federal regulators — and marketers tasked with selling the futuristic rides to consumers. **READ MORE:** [Boeing’s Flying Car Has Taken Off]() \[*Bloomberg*\] ***More on flying cars: [This “Flying Sports Car” Is Like a Giant Drone You Can Ride In]()*** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()