No degree, 13 yrs self-taught: Almora man Ravi Tamta builds e-flying vehicle

In the mountains of Uttarakhand, a journey to a nearby town can become a long trip because of winding roads, steep slopes and difficult terrain. For Ravi Tamta, an innovator from Almora, this everyday challenge became the starting point for an unusual ambition: building a vehicle that could travel above the roads instead of following them.Tamta's efforts have now drawn attention after his electric flying vehicle prototype, HAPIDA SKYNeX, completed a test flight in August 2026. The single-seat craft lifted off from an Army helipad in Almora and remained airborne for nearly a minute under the supervision of district officials. The trial marked an important milestone in a project that Tamta says has taken 13 years of research and experimentation.What makes his story stand out is not just the machine but the journey behind it.