A³ by Airbus · air taxi
Vahana
A self-piloted electric tilt-wing demonstrator built by Airbus's Silicon Valley outpost. All flights were uncrewed and flown by its onboard flight computer; 815 kg is maximum takeoff weight.
- Price
- —not sold; research demonstrator
- Autonomy
- Autonomous modeHow it runs
- Driverless
- TestingSince 2018-01-31
- Fleet
- —See details below
- Speed
- 170.0 km/hFaster than 50%
- Range
- 50 kmPer charge or tank
Why it matters
An early full-size, single-seat electric tilt-wing aircraft designed from the start to fly itself with no pilot.
Real-world use
Completed over 138 full-scale test flights, with the final flight at Pendleton, Oregon on 14 November 2019, bringing the Vahana programme to a close (Airbus, 2019; Airbus Vahana project page).
Timeline
- First shown
- 2018-01-31
- Released
- Not yet
Maker
A³ by AirbusCompanyHow it drives
Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.
- Driverless status
- Driverless tests only
- Where it runs
- Pendleton UAS Range, Oregon
- Driverless since
- 2018-01-31
- Fleet
- two demonstrators (Alpha One and Alpha Two), retired
- Rides, miles or loads
- Over 138 full-scale test flights, over 13 hours, almost 500 nautical miles (Airbus Vahana project page)
How it stacks up
Against other air taxis that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Too few air taxis publish a weight to rank it. Bars show the 2 closest in date.
Vahana is faster than 50% of the 4 other air taxis that publish a speed. Bars show the 4 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: height, payload, joints, battery, price.
Public attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current vehicles.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- No recent press stories listed yet
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
No component details published yet.
- Movement
- Other movement
- How it runs
- Fully autonomous. Does its job with nobody at the controls.
From the maker
Vahana is the only vehicle from A³ by Airbus in the atlas.
Made, sold and where
No production or sales figures published yet.
- Price
- Not publishednot sold; research demonstrator
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
Photos and logos only identify each robot and its maker. Simbeing is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsing any company, and nothing here is advertising. Figures are for statistics only and are not advice of any kind. Terms of use