TOYOTA, Japan, August 28, 2025 – SkyDrive Inc. (“SkyDrive”), a leading eVTOL (*1) aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, is pleased to announce the safe and successful completion of a series of demonstration flights of the SKYDRIVE (SkyDrive Model SD-05) conducted at the Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan between July 31 and August 24. The flight loops, of a few minutes in duration, took the SKYDRIVE up and out from the Expo venue’s vertiport and over the ocean in Osaka Bay. We invite members of the press and public to enjoy the onboard footage, which captures the aircraft in flight, the Expo venue, and the surrounding coastal scenery.
SkyDrive is also pleased to announce that one of the above demonstration flights of the SKYDRIVE, a mission flown on August 18, took place in the presence of visiting VIPs including Hirofumi Yoshimura, the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, Kazunori Tanaka, Chairman of the Diet Members’ Association for the Promotion of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (also referred to as the diet member’s Drone Association ), Yoshiro Taguchi, Director-General of the Aviation Network Department, Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, Furuichi Shigeru, Director, Advanced Air Mobility Office, Takeshi Ito, Associate Director General of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Kenichi Fujino, Representative Executive Officer and Vice President of The Kansai Electric Power Company, Incorporated, the company supplying SkyDrive with equipment for charging our aircraft.
■ Still image taken from the August 16 onboard footage
Onboard footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9aD9Gmiiwg
Flight date: August 16, 2025, around 9:30 AM
Flight data: 5 min. 14 sec. Flight distance: 720m Maximum height: 27m
■ VIPs view a SKYDRIVE (SkyDrive Model SD-05) flight on August 18.
From September, SkyDrive will fly further demonstrations from the Osakako Vertiport operated by Osaka Metro Co., Ltd. The move from Yumeshima, the island hosting the Expo, to the Osakako Vertiport, which lies adjacent to a densely populated Osaka neighborhood, is another significant step towards the wider public acceptance of eVTOLs as a regular means of daily transport.
■ September Demonstration Flight Information
Starting on September 15 and concluding on September 23, SkyDrive will perform demonstration flights of the SKYDRIVE Model SD-05 at the Osakako Vertiport, a specialist eVTOL facility built and operated by Osaka Metro Co., Ltd. The aircraft performing these flights will be the same aircraft flown by SkyDrive at Expo 2025.
1. Dates
September 15-23, 2025, with the exception of September 17 and September 18, when no flights will take place.
2. Times
First flight: From 9:30AM
Registration to watch the flight and enter the viewing area starts at 8:30 AM. Please arrive early as no entry to the viewing area is permitted after 9:15AM.
Second flight: From 11:30AM
Registration to watch the flight and enter the viewing area starts at 10:30 AM. Please arrive early as no entry to the viewing area is permitted after 11:15AM.
3. Limitations on spectator numbers
100 spectator places, which must be reserved, are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
*Depending on the circumstances, a larger number of spectator places may be made available.
4. Entry fee
Entry to the flight viewing area is free.
5. Location
Osakako Vertiport (Kaigan Dori 1-105-5, Minato Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture)
Nearest Station: Around 10 minutes on foot from the Osakako Station on the Osaka Metro’s Chuo Line.
■ Future Commercialization of the SKYDRIVE
SkyDrive is currently working to achieve the type certification required for the commercial operation of its aircraft (*2) while also working together with corporate partners in Japan and overseas to pave the way for the future commercialization of SKYDRIVE operations. In Japan, SkyDrive is collaborating with Osaka Metro, operator of the subway system in Japan’s second largest city of Osaka, with a view to starting commercial operations of the SKYDRIVE in Osaka’s Morinomiya Area in 2028. SkyDrive is also working together with JR Kyushu, a major provider of railway services on the island of Kyushu, southern Japan, with the goal of launching, also in around 2028, scenic flights over Beppu Bay, as well as airtaxi services between the city of Beppu and the nearby resort of Yufuin.
About SkyDrive Inc.
SkyDrive is an eVTOL company aiming “to take the lead in the once-in-a-century mobility revolution”. The company began testing eVTOL prototypes in 2014 prior to official incorporation in 2018. Under its future vision for urban transportation, flying in eVTOLs will become a regular part of city life. In 2019, SkyDrive became the first company to fly a crewed eVTOL in Japan. As of 2025, SkyDrive is working with civil aviation authorities in Japan and the US to acquire certification for “SKYDRIVE”, the company’s first eVTOL product. SkyDrive showcased the first public flight of the SKYDRIVE at Expo 2025 in Osaka in April 2025. SkyDrive began production of “SKYDRIVE” in March 2024 at a plant owned by Suzuki Motor Corporation, SkyDrive’s official production partner. SkyDrive is headquartered in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, and led by CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa, an engineer and entrepreneur.
For more information, please visit: https://en.skydrive2020.com/
Editor’s Note:
(*1) “eVTOL” is an abbreviation for electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing. As the name suggests, eVTOL aircraft can take off and land without a runway. eVTOLs are powered by electricity and incorporate advanced, automatic, flight control technology.
(*2) Please click the following link to view the prior SkyDrive press release on our aircraft certification campaign: https://en.skydrive2020.com/archives/14401
Contact:
Public Relations
SkyDrive Inc.
Email: info@skydrive.co.jp
https://en.skydrive2020.com/contact