Flying cars might still be a long way off, but if you find yourself in trouble in northern California, something similar just might come to your rescue.

A flight paramedic working in the woodsy reaches of Northern California has now logged at least two trips to emergencies in an eVTOL, a kind of small-rotor electric aircraft that uses battery power to hover, take off, and land, like a cross between a helicopter and a rotor-driven drone.

Unlike a bulkier helicopter, however, eVTOLs — short for electric vertical takeoff and landing — are stuffed with numerous small motors which power the craft’s rotors. In theory, that compact form factor makes them an effective choice for areas or situations where take-off and landing space is tight.

In practice, eVOTLs are still in their infancy, meaning any deployment is highly experimental. As far as their use for emergency response goes, this appears to be a first in the US.

According to the publication AeroTime, the flight medic, Quinn Reece, was able to arrive at one rural scene some 20 minutes before the ambulance pulled in. The craft, a BlackFly model developed by the company Pivotal, only has room for one pilot, so helicopters will probably still be the go-to for critical patient transportation for the foreseeable future.

Still, the utility of swiftly dispatching a trained medical responder to the scene of an emergency is hard to overlook.

“Every decision we make is about getting advanced care to our citizens faster,” Brook Cox, chief of the Hyde County EMS told AeroTime. “These missions proved that we can overcome distance, reach patients sooner, and redefine emergency response in rural communities.”

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