The Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai has begun, and SkyDrive has successfully unveiled its eVTOL “SKYDRIVE (SkyDrive SD-05 model) ” and showcased the public flight demonstration to the public.
This achievement would not have been possible without the invaluable support and contributions of our suppliers. We are deeply grateful for their cooperation and dedication throughout the development and production of the eVTOL aircraft.
Adam Hollis, Head of Air Mobility Procurement Department, SkyDrive Inc says,
“Since our founding in 2018, we have been building an eVTOL ecosystem comprised of leading companies from around the world. We successfully developed our aircraft and did flight tests, and we were able to showcase it at the Expo. We are extremely grateful to our supply partners for their support in making this a reality.
These developments demanded high levels of flexibility, communication and cooperation to rapidly respond to changes, to update and to test the hardware and software as interfacing and connected systems were revised and improved. Some notable contributors are Avidyne providing Avionics, Cyient providing Engineering Services, Electric Power Systems providing Battery and Battery Management, HSB Solutions who support with aircraft level analysis, Thales who provides SkyDrive with their next-generation flight control system, FlytRise, and Toray Carbon Magic providing CFRP Composite parts.
Thanks to the efforts of all our supply partners, we were able to successfully build our aircraft and fly at the Expo. We look forward to their continued support as we move forward with the Type Certification programme.”
About Avidyne
Based in Melbourne, Florida, USA, Avidyne is a 30 year old supplier of certified avionics. The SKYDRIVE SD-05 aircraft is configured with the Quantum avionics platform. The Quantum Avionics Platform provides a complete portfolio of cost effective, low SWaP (size, weight, and power) avionics functions that can be configured and customized to meet the unique requirements of advanced air mobility aircraft like the SKYDRIVE SD-05.
About Cyient
Cyient is a global leader in delivering engineering excellence across product, plant, and network value chains. Cyient empowers industries in Aerospace & Defense, Rail, Automotive & Mobility, Mining, Energy, Utilities, Communications, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Semiconductors with cutting-edge solutions that drive innovation and efficiency. Cyient DLM is a premier electronics systems design and manufacturing partner, providing end-to-end solutions that drive high-tech industries such as Aerospace, Defence and Medical forward. Cyient support SkyDrive in deploying Content Management Solution and complete set of Maintenance Manuals creation, support on Certification and Value Engineering activities.
About Electric Power Systems
Electric Power Systems (EPS) is a leading provider of advanced energy storage solutions and electric propulsion technologies for aerospace applications based in Utah, USA. For SkyDrive’s vehicle, EPS supplies the integrated battery system that powers its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) operations, supporting clean, efficient, and sustainable urban air mobility.
About HSB Solutions
HSB Solutions is an innovative aerospace engineering company and provides highly specialized engineering services tailored to the complex demands of aeronautical product development, covering areas such as flight sciences, aircraft loads and aeroelasticity, avionics and systems integration, safety and certification processes, as well as cutting-edge AI and digital engineering solutions. HSB has delivered high-quality engineering support that’s felt more like an extension of SkyDrive internal team than an external partner.
About Thales
Thales is a global leader in advanced technologies in advance for the Defence, Aerospace and Cyber & Digital sectors. Its portfolio of innovative products and services addresses several major challenges: sovereignty, security, sustainability and inclusion. The Group invests more than €4 billion per year in Research & Development in key areas, particularly for critical environments, such as Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum and cloud technologies. Thales has more than 83,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2024, the Group generated sales of €20.6 billion. Thales supports SkyDrive with its next-generation flight control system, FlytRise, which is based on its 40+ years of proven experience and specially adapted to the requirements of unmanned aircraft: autonomy, lightweight design, and compactness.
About Toray Carbon Magic
Part of the Toray Group, Toray Carbon Magic (TCM) based in Shiga, Japan, specializes in design, trial production and manufacturing of carbon composite products using carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). Deploying CFRP molding and processing technologies cultivated through years of racing car development, TCM dramatically improves the performance of various parts and structures by making full use of the CFRP material. Utilising in-house short term development capabilities, TCM worked concurrently with Skydrive’s designers to design and manufacture all of the composite structural parts in the flight test vehicles.