We know all about Google’s project to build self-driving cars, but according to a report in The New York Times, they have already launched their own flying taxi!

There have been many high-profile projects aiming to build a flying car or taxi, but it looks like Google’s founder Larry Page may have gazumped the competition and beaten the lot.

According to the US newspaper, Page has been working, in secret, with Kitty Hawk, a company run by the same Sebastian Thrun behind the self-driving car. The latest project, which comes with the title Cora, is an autonomous and fully electric flying taxi.

The amazing news does not end at these revelations. The biggest problem for all airborne vehicles has been the take-off or landing, with an expectation that a landing strip will be needed. The Cora seems to have put an end to that problem by incorporating VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) technology which means that it takes off like a helicopter before flying away like a plane.

The report suggests that Cora can fly 62 miles on a single charge, which may not seem far, but we are talking quite literally as the crow (or more accurately the Cora) flies.

The Cora has snuck up unnoticed by doing most of its testing in New Zealand and it’s in that country that Kitty Hawk will be aiming to get certification to use the VTOLs for commercial use within three years.

New Zealand certainly seems to be a more accommodating environment for a flying taxi project, with regulations in Europe and the US bound by plenty of red-tape.

Guess we’ll have to keep a close eye Googling Cora VTOL for latest developments on this exciting project.

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