December 20, 2021 | From Vision to Flight

The most significant moments begin with a vision. From the moment we first took to the skies to the moment air travel made our world smaller, ours is a history written by those with the vision to venture further. They were explorers, pioneers of the unknown, bound only by the limitations of their own imagination. Never content with simply accepting what is, they pushed for what could be. Through them, foundations were built and lessons were learned. For each subsequent generation, a higher point from which to take off; a new assemblage for what we think is possible.

And now, we make our mark on what is possible for the next generation. On December 16, 2021, at a chilly airfield in Salinas, California, we successfully completed our first hover test flight. Just as the visions of those who came before us, today ours became a reality. A moment made possible by the team we call our own, as well as the pioneers who’ve guided us.

Pioneers who on the morning of December 17, 1903, with a determination to push further, first mastered the skies. Descendants of some of the first immigrants to this land, Orville and Wilbur Wright had exploration in their blood, yet little formal scientific training. They had vision. They had curiosity. They studied those who came before, and upon that knowledge they tested, evaluated, and refined. Ever learning more, and ever pushing forward, they ultimately turned fantasy to reality on the North Carolina shore.

A mere half century after the Wright Flyer was piloted on a beach for 120 feet, we were travelling across oceans in jets. Though piston-engine airliners took us further than many ever imagined, there were still those seeking more. Those who knew we could travel more safely and at greater speeds. And they took us further with the Pratt & Whitney JT3 turbojet engine. It powered the Boeing 707, first taking to the skies on December 20, 1957. On October 26, 1958 transatlantic commercial jetliner travel began, with Pan Am flying the Boeing 707 from New York City to Paris in 8 hours and 41 minutes. It began a revolution, taking us further, faster than ever before.

We stand today deep in the era of the jetliner and right on the cusp of the next aerial mobility revolution. Maker is the first of our full scale electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and with it we’re helping usher in a new era of Urban Air Mobility (UAM). Powered entirely by electricity and propelled by 12 motors, it’s the first iteration of our vision of what sustainable air mobility can be. It’s how we’re seeking to make travel safer, more sustainable, and easier for everyone. From the foundations built by those who came before, we studied, evaluated, and refined.

And little more than a century after that momentous December morning in 1903, Maker first took to the skies. No mere simple maneuver, it’s the culmination of countless hours of development and exhaustive testing. The propellers spent over a year in the lab to ensure they exceeded performance and safety standards. The high voltage system was meticulously ground tested and exercised. The flight code, the essential ingredient that brings the hardware to life, underwent rigorous tests. As a result, Maker safely and sustainably executed its first vertical takeoff, hover, and vertical landing.

Though one small step in our own mastery of the skies, this first test hover flight is helping shape the foundation for what air travel can be. No longer bound by the limitations of the past, we grow ever closer to the future of mobility. Join us as we continue to venture further.