News in Easy English: What happened to the 'flying cars' at Expo 2025 in Osaka?
Flying cars are popular at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. But there was an accident on April 26 during a demonstration flight. Here are simple questions and answers about flying cars at the event.
Q: What are flying cars?
A: Flying cars are special vehicles that can fly. They usually carry between one and five people. Some look like drones, and some look like airplanes. These cars cost less money to make than airplanes. They are also quieter than helicopters. Many companies around the world and in Japan are working hard to make them. People think flying cars will be very useful in the future.
Q: Can visitors at the Expo ride in flying cars?
A: No. Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura wanted visitors to ride in flying cars and pay money for it. But preparing everything safely was too difficult to do before the Expo started. Instead, Japanese companies SkyDrive Inc., Marubeni Corp. and ANA Holdings Inc. planned demonstration flights. The last two are working together with companies from other countries.
Q: How do flying cars fly?
A: The companies showed how these flying cars fly at Yumeshima island. Yumeshima is a man-made island in Osaka. On April 14, a flying car flew slowly about 10 meters above ground for about six minutes with one pilot. But on April 26, the flying car from Marubeni Corp. broke during its flight. It damaged one part of its body and one motor.
Q: Will there still be flying car shows at the Expo?
A: More flights were planned for Japan's Golden Week holidays in early May and on later weekends. But after the accident on April 26, the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition decided to stop the flights for now. They will check safety again before they start the flights once more. The organizers of the Expo think safety is the most important thing.
(Japanese original by Takumi Fujikawa, Osaka City News Department)
Vocabulary
Expo: A big event where many countries or companies show new ideas and technology.
demonstration flights: Test flights to show people how something works.
artificial island: An island made by people, not by nature.
motor: A machine that gives power to move or fly.
organizers: People or groups who plan and run an event.
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