Uttarakhand youth Ravi Tamta's electric 'flying car' HAPIDA SKYNeX – test flight succeeds

26 October 2026 · English Infrastructure & Energy

Topics: Environment, Rural Development & Economy · 26 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

Ravi Tamta of Kaflikhan village near Jageshwar Dham, Almora district, Uttarakhand – self-taught over about 13 years through the internet, with no engineering degree – built 'HAPIDA SKYNeX', a single-seat electric flying vehicle, through his firm Hapida Sky Private Limited. Based on scaled-up multirotor drone technology, it is a battery-powered electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) prototype. In August 2026 it flew for nearly a minute at an Army helipad in Almora; it was back in the news in October 2026 (The Better India – 21 Oct; Channel IAM – 25 Oct). The goal is to cut a 40 km, 90-minute road trip to 10–15 minutes. It is an early prototype that needs further testing.

Key facts

Background

• eVTOL: an electrically powered aircraft that takes off and lands vertically without a runway. Being developed worldwide for urban 'air taxi' (Advanced Air Mobility) services – zero exhaust emissions and low noise.
• Regulation: civil aviation safety and certification in India is handled by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) – under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, HQ New Delhi. Drones are governed by the 'Drone Rules 2021' (25 Aug 2021) – five classes: nano (up to 250 g), micro, small, medium, large; permissions via the 'Digital Sky' platform.
• Science: a multirotor's propellers push air downward and the reaction pushes the vehicle up – Newton's third law. Bernoulli's principle explains wing lift arising from the pressure difference above and below a wing.
• Other Indian efforts: 'The ePlane Company' (2019; founder Prof. Satya Chakravarthy), incubated at IIT Madras – received DGCA Design Organisation Approval (DOA) in 2023.

Tamil Nadu link: IIT Madras-incubated 'The ePlane Company' unveiled the full-scale prototype (PT-01) of 'e200X', a compact passenger eVTOL air taxi, in July 2026 – a pilot plus 200 kg payload (2 passengers or cargo), about 110 km range. It was built at a 60,000 sq ft facility on IIT Madras's Discovery Campus at Thaiyur (Chengalpattu district); certified flight trials are targeted for mid-2027.

Source: The Better India, 21 Oct 2026; Channel IAM, 25 Oct 2026; Punekar News, 8 Aug 2026; YourStory, 24 July 2026; AIN, 21 July 2026 (e200X); TimesTech, 26 Feb 2026 (Thaiyur facility)

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