Dubai dreams of flying taxis

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — With a whirling buzz from 18 rotors, the pilotless helicopter gently lifted off the ground and soared up into the afternoon sky, the spire of the world’s tallest building visible behind it.

The recent unmanned flight by the German-made electric Volocopter represents the latest step in Dubai’s pursuit of flying taxis, which would not seem out of place among the Gulf city’s already futuristic skyline — imagine “Blade Runner,” with less rain.

Dubai already has invested in another model of a flying, autonomous taxi, and is working to design regulations for their use. Putting more passengers in the air could free its already clogged highways and burnish the city’s cutting-edge image of itself.

“It’s public transportation for everybody, so you can use, you can order it, you can pay for the trip and the trip is not much more expensive than with a car,” said Alexander Zosel, Volocopter’s co-founder. “If you build roads, you build bridges, it’s a huge amount and it’s always much more cheaper to have a system where you don’t need that infrastructure.”

Driving in Dubai already makes one yearn for the open skies. Rush hour on Sheikh Zayed Road, a dozen-lane artery running down the length of the city, alternates between dense gridlock and sports-car slalom. Over 1.5 million Dubai-registered vehicles ply its roads, not counting those crowding in from the United Arab Emirates’ six other sheikhdoms.

The Volocopter’s designers envision the electric, battery-powered two-seat helicopters taking off and landing from pads set up across the city.

The prototype used in Dubai has a maximum flying time of 30 minutes at 31 mph, with a maximum airspeed of 62 mph. Batteries charged in climate-controlled areas near the pads would be swapped in as needed.