Founder StoryAlmora

Arts graduate builds an electric flying car prototype

Ravi Tamta, a Bachelor of Arts graduate from Almora, Uttarakhand, has built HAPIDA SKYNeX, a single-seat electric flying vehicle prototype, after 13 years of self-learning. It made its first test flight in August.

By Day1 Startup Media · 27 Oct 2026 · 4 min read

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Arts graduate builds an electric flying car prototype — Ravi Tamta's HAPIDA SKYNeX prototype. From Day1 Startup Media's post

In the hills of Uttarakhand, reaching a hospital can mean hours on winding mountain roads. Ravi Tamta, who grew up in Kaflikhan village near Jageshwar Dham in Almora district, wanted a way to fly over them instead. With an Arts degree and no engineering training, he has built one: a single-seat electric flying vehicle prototype called HAPIDA SKYNeX.

No engineering degree, 13 years of learning

Ravi studied at the junior high school in his village and then completed a Bachelor of Arts at the Nainital campus. He had no formal training in science, engineering or aviation, so he taught himself from the internet, through independent study and years of trial and error. Moneycontrol describes him as 21 years old and says his interest in a flying vehicle goes back to 2015; reports describe the journey as 13 years of self-learning and experiments.

His father, Harish Ram, is a mechanic, and reports say his family backed him along the way. According to Business Today, Ravi says the flying vehicle itself took about a year to build.

How HAPIDA SKYNeX works

The prototype is built under his startup, Hapida Sky Private Limited. It is an eVTOL, an electric vehicle that takes off and lands vertically, so it does not need a runway. It works like a scaled-up drone: multiple electric motors and propellers on outside arms lift the vehicle and keep it balanced.

It has a lightweight frame, a single-seat cockpit and a transparent canopy. It runs on batteries, with no aviation fuel.

The first test flight

HAPIDA SKYNeX made its first test flight in August 2026 in Almora. Dainik Jagran reported that Ravi took it up twice at the Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna sports ground, in front of District Magistrate Anshul Singh, staying in the air for about three minutes and circling the stadium. The Better India described the maiden flight as taking off from an army helipad and staying airborne for nearly a minute.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke to Ravi on the phone and promised support, Jagran reported.

What comes next

The goal is short trips across hard terrain, especially in medical emergencies. The project's stated aim is to cover a mountain journey of about 40 km, around 90 minutes by road, in 10 to 15 minutes by air. That is a target, not something the vehicle has shown yet.

The prototype is at an early stage. Before it can carry passengers, it will need much more testing of stability, battery performance and safety, and clearances from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Not his first invention

Before the flying vehicle, Ravi worked on shoes that charge a mobile phone, a smart walking stick for people with visual impairments, a bamboo-splitting machine and firefighting equipment, including a fire extinguisher for the Forest Department.