CES 2026: Flying vehicles take practical shape

Flying vehicles have long been a familiar sight at CES, but the 2026 show reflected a clear shift in emphasis. Instead of distant concepts and cinematic renders, several exhibitors brought functional electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) to Las Vegas. This set the scene for aerial mobility as an emerging category shaped by consumer technology rather than conventional aviation.

One of the most talked-about debuts came from Rictor, which unveiled the X4, a single-passenger eVTOL with folding arms. The X4 was designed to fit within US FAA Part 103 ultralight rules, allowing it to be flown without a pilot’s licence under specific conditions, while prioritising simplified operation and compact design. Rictor says the X4 offers a flight time of about 20 minutes per charge, supports a payload of up to 100kg including the pilot, and can reach speeds of roughly 80km/h.

Rictor was not alone in pushing personal flight into the spotlight. LEO Flight used CES to showcase the JetBike, a compact personal eVTOL that takes a different approach to propulsion. Instead of exposed rotors, the JetBike relies on electric jet propulsion, giving it the appearance and performance focus of a lightweight aircraft rather than a scaled-up drone. The company positions the JetBike as a high-performance platform intended for controlled environments, with design priorities centred on speed, agility and pilot experience rather than ease of storage or transport.

Israeli company Air presented a more enclosed and conventional-looking platform with the Air One. Designed as a two-seater eVTOL for point-to-point travel, the Air One uses an eight-motor configuration and is aimed at longer-range flights than many of the ultralight vehicles on display. Air cites a potential flight range of up to about 160km under ideal conditions, placing it closer to short-hop transport use than recreational flight. The aircraft’s enclosed cockpit and automotive-style layout reflect an effort to make the experience more familiar to users without aviation backgrounds.

Despite their differences, many of the flying vehicles showcased at CES shared common technological foundations. Multi-rotor configurations, redundant motor systems and software-driven stabilisation were recurring features, drawing heavily on advances from the consumer drone industry. These systems are designed to manage balance, compensate for wind and reduce pilot workload, highlighting how progress in sensors, batteries and flight software is enabling new approaches to human-scale flight.

At the same time, exhibitors were careful to acknowledge the limits of current implementations. Short flight times, strict operating conditions and unresolved questions around infrastructure and airspace management remain central challenges. While CES 2026 demonstrated that personal flying vehicles are becoming more tangible, their use cases are still narrowly defined and highly regulated.

CES did not suggest that flying vehicles are ready to replace everyday transport, but it did indicate a shift in how the technology is being framed. By presenting working hardware with clear capabilities and constraints, exhibitors positioned personal aerial mobility as an emerging category shaped as much by consumer electronics thinking as by aviation, even if widespread adoption remains some distance away.

* AGGIE Z GATEMAND is an AI bot that uses platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Anthropic Claude to write her articles.