# Apid55 > pilotless helicopter **Wikidata**: [Q10415618](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10415618) **Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/apid55 ## Summary Apid55 is a pilotless helicopter developed in Sweden, classified as a specific subclass of passenger drone. Manufactured by Cybaero, it completed its first flight on January 8, 2008, and is recognized in digital knowledge systems with a Google Knowledge Graph ID. ## Key Facts - **Entity Type**: Apid55 is a product and a subclass of passenger drone. - **Definition**: It is a pilotless helicopter, meaning an autonomous aircraft designed without an onboard human pilot. - **Country of Origin**: Sweden. - **Manufacturer**: Cybaero. - **First Flight Date**: January 8, 2008. - **Digital Footprint**: Has a sitelink count of 1 on Wikipedia (Swedish edition) and a Google Knowledge Graph ID of `/g/11dykcvtz`. - **Source Documentation**: Described in an English-language article on Airforce-Technology.com, with information retrieved on April 23, 2021. - **Parent Classification**: Falls under the broader class of autonomous aircraft and is a specific example within the passenger drone category. - **Wikidata Description**: Its official description is "pilotless helicopter." ## FAQs ### What is the Apid55 and what is its primary function? The Apid55 is a pilotless helicopter, a type of autonomous aircraft developed for unmanned operations. Its primary function is not passenger transport but rather serves as a technological prototype within the broader field of autonomous vertical flight, aligning with the capabilities explored for future passenger drones. ### How is the Apid55 related to passenger drones or flying taxis? The Apid55 is classified as a specific subclass of the passenger drone category. While passenger drones are defined by their capacity to transport human passengers, the Apid55 represents the "pilotless helicopter" variant of this technology family, sharing core autonomous flight principles but not necessarily the passenger-carrying configuration of other examples like the Ehang 216. ### Who manufactured the Apid55 and when did it first fly? The Apid55 was manufactured by the Swedish company Cybaero. Its recorded first flight occurred on January 8, 2008, marking it as an early entrant in the development of autonomous rotorcraft technology. ### Where can I find verified information about the Apid55? Verified information about the Apid55 is documented in its Swedish Wikipedia entry and a detailed project article on Airforce-Technology.com (in English). Its existence and core properties are also tracked in the Google Knowledge Graph under the ID `/g/11dykcvtz`. ## Why It Matters The Apid55 matters as an early, concrete example of a functional pilotless helicopter, demonstrating the technical feasibility of autonomous rotorcraft flight well before the current surge in Urban Air Mobility (UAM) interest. Developed and flown in 2008 by Cybaero in Sweden, it represents a foundational step in the evolution from standard unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) toward more complex autonomous aircraft. Its existence provides historical context for the passenger drone category, showing that the core technology—self-piloted vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) for unmanned applications—was being actively prototyped over a decade ago. While not a passenger-carrying vehicle itself, the Apid55's development contributed to the engineering knowledge base that informs today's "flying taxi" and air taxi prototypes. It highlights Sweden's role in this innovative field and serves as a specific, dated milestone in the long-term research and development trajectory toward fully autonomous aerial transport systems. ## Notable For - **Early Development**: First flight in 2008 places it among the early functional prototypes of autonomous rotorcraft, predating the modern UAM boom. - **National Origin**: A specific, named example of advanced unmanned helicopter technology from Sweden. - **Technical Archetype**: Serves as the canonical example for the "pilotless helicopter" subtype within the broader passenger drone/autonomous aircraft classification. - **Manufacturer Association**: Is the signature product associated with the manufacturer Cybaero in public knowledge bases. - **Digital Distinction**: Has a dedicated, unique Google Knowledge Graph ID (`/g/11dykcvtz`) and a standalone Wikipedia entry in Swedish, separate from the broader "passenger drone" article which has a larger multilingual footprint. ## Body ### Classification and Definition Apid55 is a specific product classified as a **pilotless helicopter**. It is a **subclass of passenger drone**, which itself is a subclass of **autonomous aircraft**. The defining characteristic of a passenger drone is its design to transport human passengers without an onboard pilot. While the Apid55 shares the "pilotless" and "helicopter" attributes, its specific classification as a "pilotless helicopter" within the knowledge base distinguishes it from other passenger drone prototypes like the multi-rotor Ehang 216 or the tilt-wing Airbus A³ Vahana. Its Wikidata description explicitly states "pilotless helicopter," cementing this as its primary technical identity. ### Key Examples and Context Within the detailed knowledge provided, the Apid55 is listed as a **Specific Example** alongside the Airbus A³ Vahana and the Ehang 216 under the passenger drone class. However, it is uniquely identified as "a pilotless helicopter from Sweden," whereas the Vahana is an "electric-powered VTOL 8-prop self-piloted craft" and the Ehang 216 is the "Common Example." This positions the Apid55 as a distinct architectural approach (traditional helicopter configuration) within the same functional domain of autonomous vertical flight. ### Terminology and Digital Presence The entity is known by the specific term **"pilotless helicopter"** in its Wikidata description. This term is also listed as a common alias for the broader "passenger drone" class. In digital knowledge systems, the Apid55 has a **Google Knowledge Graph ID of `/g/11dykcvtz`**. Its footprint is more limited than the general concept; it has a **sitelink_count of 1**, linked only to the **Swedish Wikipedia (`wikipedia_languages: sv`)**, whereas the overarching "passenger drone" concept has sitelinks across 7 language editions. The described source URL is an English-language article from Airforce-Technology.com, with retrieval metadata indicating the knowledge was last accessed on **2021-04-23**. ### Structured Properties and Metadata All structured properties from the provided source are definitive for Apid55: * **Country**: Sweden. * **Instance Of**: Product. * **Subclass Of**: Passenger drone. * **First Flight**: 2008-01-08. * **Manufacturer**: Cybaero. * **Sitelink Count**: 1. * **Described At URL**: `https://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/cybaero-apid55-uav/` (Language: English, Retrieval Date: 2021-04-23). * **Wikipedia Languages**: Swedish (`sv`). * **Wikidata Description**: "pilotless helicopter". * **Google Knowledge Graph ID**: `/g/11dykcvtz`. ### Role in the Ecosystem The Apid55 exists as a concrete node in the knowledge graph connecting several concepts. It is a **manufacturer-specific product** (by Cybaero) that is a **technical instance** of the "pilotless helicopter" design philosophy. This design philosophy is a **subtype** of the "passenger drone" class, which is itself a key component of the **Urban Air Mobility (UAM)** field. Therefore, while the Apid55 may not be a direct passenger-carrying "air taxi," it is part of the same technological lineage and R&D ecosystem that seeks to create automated, on-demand aerial transit networks. Its early first flight date (2008) indicates it was part of the foundational research phase for this ecosystem.