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We’re on a mission to make flying accessible to everyone, for the first time in history.
Here's our story.
November 2017
LIFT AIRCRAFT IS FOUNDED
uShip founder, Matt Chasen, and former FLIKE team members join forces to develop an electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that anyone can fly.
December 2017
HEXA IS DESIGNED
The team produces a clean-sheet, hover-focused design optimized for safety and conforming to FAR Part 103, so no pilot's license is required to fly.
January 2018 | Hungary
1:5 PROTOTOTYPE FLIES
The team verifies key engineering assumptions with a subscale prototype, including that the design can tolerate multiple motor failures.
JULY 2018 | Lago Vista, TX
1ST UNMANNED FLIGHT
Seven months after designing on paper, LIFT succeeds in flying a full-scale prototype. This was achieved by using massive 3-D printed molds and putting in a tremendous amount of work.
October 2018 | Lago Vista, TX
1ST MANNED FLIGHT
Less than one year after its founding, LIFT's CEO, Matt Chasen, pilots HEXA on its inaugural manned flight
December 2018 | Austin, TX
HEXA IS UNVEILED TO THE PUBLIC
"It's like a flight simulator you can ride in."
- Peter Holly @washingtonpost
"HEXA manned multirotor: It's real and you can fly it..."
- Loz Blain @newatlas
"Personal flying machines could be the future."
- Motherboard staff @motherboard
"HEXA may be your first drone ride."
- Devin Coldeway @techcrunch
March 2019 | Austin, TX
HEXA'S FIRST PUBLIC DISPLAY AT SXSW 2019
"So, I think the future is here."
March 2019 | Palm Springs, CA
JEFF BEZOS ONBOARD HEXA
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LIFT is invited to showcase HEXA at MARS, the exclusive conference hosted by Amazon founder & CEO, Jeff Bezos
July 2019
HEXA IS FEATURED ON THE TODAY SHOW
"In the next decade, this is how many of us may be going from point A to point B."
July 2019 | Lago Vista, TX
1st BETA FLIGHT PILOTED BY COLIN GUINN (GUINN PARTNERS)
"It gets the stoke level super high."
October 2019 | Dubai, UAE
HEXA ON DISPLAY FOR DUBAI'S CROWN PRINCE
The Crown Prince says he wants to be one of the
first to fly HEXA in Dubai.
December 2019
PRODUCTION OF HEXA BEGINS
LIFT is the first company in the United States to start serial production of an eVTOL aircraft
March 2020
LIFT WINS AIR FORCE R&D CONTRACT FOR AIR AMBULANCE
CAD Model
This is the first step toward HEXA saving lives.
April 2020
LIFT SELECTED FOR AIR FORCE AGILITY PRIME INITIATIVE
The Air Force is providing unsurpassed expertise to further our safety testing. We're honored to be one of the first eVTOL aircraft companies selected.
August 2020
LIFT RECEIVES $2.5M AIR FORCE FLIGHT TEST CONTRACT
The Air Force Research Lab, which works on the most advanced aircraft in the world, is supporting envelope expansion for HEXA.​
August 2020 | Camp Mabry - Austin, TX
MANNED FLIGHT DEMO FOR SECRETARY OF US AIR FORCE
“The thought of an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle — a flying car — might seem straight out of a Hollywood movie, but by partnering today with stakeholders across industries and agencies, we can set up the United States for this aerospace phenomenon.”
- Secretary of the Air Force, Barbara Barrett
October 2020
FIRST PRODUCTION AIRFRAME SHIPPED
HEXA is one of the world's first production
eVTOL aircraft.
November 2020 | South Korea
UAM EXHIBITION ALONGSIDE EHANG IN SOUTH KOREA
Our first production aircraft crosses the Pacific.
December 2020
LIFT WINS AIR FORCE R&D CONTRACT FOR AUTONOMOUS CARGO RETRIEVAL
CAD Model
The beginning of new applications for the modular HEXA platform.
February 2021
LIFT HEXA BEGINS AIR FORCE AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATION
"The LIFT Aircraft that we see today represent the emergence of incredible technology that has the potential to transform our lives, just as the Wright brothers did more than 117 years ago."
- Ohio Governor Mike DeWine
April 2021 | Austin, TX
HEXA FLIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
In a flight demonstration for the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, a part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, HEXA flew inside the Darrel K Royal-Texas Memorial Football Stadium.
March 2021 | Springfield, OH
USAF PROVES HEXA CAN BE TRANSPORTED VIA C-130
355th Wing from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona successfully used an HC-130J Combat King II to move HEXA from Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport in Ohio to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, further proving the potential for use of the aircraft in military missions.
January 2022 | Austin, TX
EMPLOYEE TRAINING FLIGHTS BEGIN
In preparation for the upcoming launch of customer flights, the Flight Ops team started training LIFT employees - many of them non-pilots!
July 2021 | Austin, TX
LIFT RECEIVES FAA APPROVAL FOR FIRST VERTIPORT
Architectural rendering of LIFT's first vertiport
LIFT has secured the site for and begun developing the first LIFT Vertiport location overlooking Lake Travis in Austin, TX.
April 2022 | Austin, TX
LIFT ADVANCES TO PHASE 3 USAF CONTRACT
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“LIFT is a great example of why Agility Prime exists — to further applications of eVTOL technology for both military and civilian use.”
- Lt. Col John Tekell, Agility Prime Lead, AFWERX
April 2022 | Austin, TX
FIRST PUBLIC MANNED FLIGHT DEMONSTRATION
LIFT returned to SXSW in 2022 with its first public manned flight demonstration. LIFT publicly launched at the event in 2018 with a static display of HEXA.
April 2022 | Austin, TX
ANDERSON COOPER FLIES HEXA ON 60 MINUTES
“That is cool. I can’t stop laughing… That is awesome, that is so much fun. Wow.” - Anderson Cooper
March 2023 | Japan
LIFT COMPLETES FIRST-EVER PILOTED eVTOL FLIGHTS IN JAPAN
“This is a strong indication to the world, and especially the thousands on our waitlist, that they will have the opportunity to fly very soon.” - LIFT CEO, Matt Chasen
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