SkyDrive announced at the Paris Air Show 2023 yesterday that it has selected Thales to provide a flight control system for its production eVTOL, one of the key elements of eVTOL aircraft for calculating and adjusting the position of the aircraft’s control surfaces and managing engine thrust.

The fly-by-wire system is a critical element of flight safety. Thales pioneered fly-by-wire solutions in the 1980s with the first installation on the Airbus A310. Since then, more than 12,000 aircraft have been equipped with Thales solutions.

Today, Thales FlytRise offers a new generation of flight controls, offering the combined benefits of proven experience and adaptation to eVTOL requirements, in particular lightness, compactness, and autonomy-readiness.

SkyDrive has been selected to participate at the AAM Smart Mobility Project at Expo 2025 Osaka in Kansai, Japan. Designed to be flown with one pilot and two passengers on board for intra-city flights, SkyDrive needs flight control solutions securing safe flights above populated areas.

Arnaud Coville, SkyDrive chief development officer commented: “Thales’s flight controls have long been trusted in the aviation industry. As an eVTOL manufacturer, SkyDrive values safety above all, and we believe that partnering with Thales in flight control will enable us to achieve the safety objectives of our aircraft.”

Thales VP for flight avionics Jean-Paul Ebanga added: “While mobility is seeking new sustainable solutions, we are proud to support SkyDrive in opening the skies to urban transportation, thanks to our new generation flight control solutions.”

Thales is a global leader in Defence & Security, Aeronautics & Space, and Digital Identity, with 77,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2022, the Group generated sales of €17.6 billion. The Group invests close to €4 billion a year in R&D in key areas such as quantum technologies, edge computing, 6G and cybersecurity.

Two months ago, Eve Air Mobility teamed up with Thales to support the development of its eVTOL aircraft in Brazil.