Doroni Aerospace is using technology to help the general public imagine what it would be like to be in the cockpit of an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle.
The Coral Springs startup recently revealed the completed cockpit of its Doroni H1 personal eVTOL vehicle at the 2022 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, an air show and aviation industry event in Wisconsin. The cockpit was combined with an immersive virtual reality flight experience that made it possible for participants to simulate the takeoff, flight and landing of the aircraft using virtual reality headsets.
Many eVTOL ventures are focusing on marketing the vehicles as air taxis, but Doroni is designing its aircraft for personal use. The two-seater Doroni H1 uses a simplified control system that makes it possible for anyone with a driver's license to operate after completing a training course, the company said.
CEO Doron Merdinger previously told Miami Inno that the electric vehicle is a faster, and greener, alternative to driving cars in areas with heavy traffic congestion.
The company expects to have a full-scale, fully functioning flying Doroni H1 prototype completed this year, and is planning for a commercial launch in late 2024. In April, Doroni raised $1.07 million from investor through StartEngine, an equity crowdfunding platform. It recently launched its second crowdfunding effort on the website to support research and development.
"While the industry is currently getting commercial air taxi operations off the ground, Doroni is aiming to disrupt the personal mobility market, as we believe personal eVTOLs – not commercial air taxis – are the future of transportation," Doroni stated on its StartEngine crowdfunding page.
Doroni said its mission is to "democratize the power of flight" by creating an easy-to-use-control system engineered to simplify the complexities of helicopter and airplane flight. According to the startup, that will make it possible for people to fly a Doroni eVTOL vehicle without the need for a pilot's license or previous flight training experience.
Doroni Aerospace is among at least a half-dozen eVTOL companies with a presence in South Florida. The tri-county area's traffic and lack of public transit infrastructure makes it an attractive market for those vehicles, which take off vertically like a helicopter, then fly like a regular plane.
Morgan Stanley estimates the urban air mobility industry could be worth as much as $1.5 trillion by 2040, with passenger travel expected to account for most of that market.
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