Lift Aircraft planned to start customer demonstration flights in late 2019, followed by a 25-city U.S. tour in early 2020.
Lift Aircraft is developing the Hexa electric multicopter to be operated under FAA's Powered Ultralight rules. These limit empty weight to 254 pounds. Hexa has a maximum takeoff weight of 423 pounds. Powered ultralights can only operate during daylight in Class G uncontrolled airspace and do not require the operator to hold a pilot's license.
Hexa will operate partly autonomously with pre-set limits, such as the need to prevent the aircraft from straying into controlled airspace.
Lift Aircraft says it has been flying the prototype for some time and is making preparations for series production. In December 2019, it was preparing to do a limited number of customer flight demonstrations in its home city of Austin, Texas. Plans for a 25-city U.S. demonstration tour due to start in the first quarter of 2020 were pushed back to make time for more flight tests. However, the company insisted that it is "entering into production" and will have production aircraft ready for the start of the planned tour.