A Hangzhou-based startup called CoolFly has unveiled a flying machine unlike anything most people have seen outside of science fiction: a standing eVTOL platform called Urban, nicknamed the "air skateboard." Instead of wings, propellers, or a traditional cockpit, the device features a flat, flower-shaped platform roughly 3.5 meters across, with four ducted fans tucked inside petal-like sections and shielded by a honeycomb safety grille. Riders simply stand in the center and lean in the direction they want to travel, while an AI gravity-sensing system reads that shift in posture and adjusts thrust automatically. The company says it can carry pilots weighing up to 90 kilograms and standing as tall as 1.9 meters, reaching speeds of up to 70 km/h with roughly 11 minutes of flight time per charge.

What makes Urban especially notable is how accessible CoolFly is positioning it to be for everyday users. The company claims the device can be learned in about 10 minutes, and because it falls under ultralight aircraft rules, no pilot's license is required to fly it. That combination of low barrier to entry and genuine vertical flight capability has generated significant buzz online, with video footage showing riders hovering and maneuvering at low altitudes over open fields and roads. CoolFly has also built out safety features including dual-redundant flight control architecture and triple-redundant inertial measurement units, aiming to reassure potential customers that the machine is more than just a novelty.

The company has been actively building credibility around Urban rather than treating it purely as a concept demonstration. CoolFly has already secured insurance partnerships with major providers like PICC Property and Casualty and China Pacific Property Insurance, covering both the Urban and its seated counterpart, Dream, including overseas product liability. The aircraft has also been shown at major international events, including CES 2026 in Las Vegas and EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin, as CoolFly works to expand beyond the Chinese market. In one striking public demonstration, two Urban units reportedly carried performers through the air during a Spring Festival Gala event in Harbin, flying in freezing temperatures of around -30 degrees Celsius alongside fireworks and lights.

Not everyone is convinced the technology is as groundbreaking as CoolFly's marketing suggests, however. Critics have pointed out that the Urban bears a striking resemblance in both appearance and function to the Hiller Model 1031-A-1 Flying Platform, a similar standing aircraft developed with U.S. military backing back in the 1950s. Some observers have also questioned just how "AI" the gravity-sensing system truly is, noting that it appears to rely on fairly standard sensor technology like accelerometers rather than anything revolutionary. Regardless of the debate over its novelty, CoolFly says the Urban is moving toward mass production this year, with the company positioning it for recreational flying, short urban hops, and tourism rather than long-distance commuting.