Flying Car Startup Performs World's First Piloted Test Flight
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In 2016, Doroni Aerospace was founded by serial entrepreneur Doron Merdinger, a man with 25 years of design and manufacturing experience who constructed a world-class engineering and technical team to try and deliver his democratized air travel dreams.
On Monday, July 3rd, the company's CEO did more than put his money where his mouth is; he flew the company's H1 prototype in the aircraft's first piloted test flight. While the test flight was modest and held in a small hangar, Merdinger became the first to successfully pilot a two-seater personal vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) electric aircraft in the United States. Merdinger said the brief flight felt like "floating on a cushion of air."
During the test, the aircraft hovered about 10 feet above the floor, and the company teased a rendering of the potential design that was superimposed over the prototype. The feat was a major milestone for the U.S. eVTOL market.
Doroni's eVTOL uses electric motors to power a semi-autonomous aircraft with a targeted initial range of up to 60 miles on a single charge. The company hopes to increase the range to 100 miles as battery and motor technology advances.
The plane maker already has more than 300 pre-orders for the H1, which has a calculated starting retail price of $250,000. Doroni says the H1 will give customers a new way to own, fly, and park their own "flying car" in a typical two-car garage. To begin, customers only need a valid driver's license and to finish a 20-hour training course.
The H1 is scheduled to go to market by the end of next year, with deliveries beginning in 2025.
