China’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVOTL) company AutoFlight is achieving global milestones and is already ahead of competitors because of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) being “quite supportive” of the new industry.
The eVTOL aircraft market is forecast to be big business. Analysis carried out by finance company Morgan Stanley estimates the market could be worth $1.5tn a year by 2040.
Air mobility technologies such as eVTOL offer benefits for many sectors, from faster commutes in cities and improved logistics to use in agriculture and security operations.
While there are a number of companies working on eVTOL solutions – indeed, the UK’s first vertiport testbed for developing next-generation eVTOLs was recently launched at a 444-acre estate in Oxfordshire – these solutions are struggling to get past the testing stages into operation because of stringent regulations and safety rules.
Aware of this issue, the UK government recently launched the Future of Flight action plan, which states that flying taxis will take flight by 2026. Indeed, flying taxis by Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace are already undergoing Civil Aviation Authority process.
However, the UK and others are lagging behind China, which could end up dominating the market.
For instance, China’s flying taxi company AutoFlight has been working on its five-seater Prosperity eVTOL aircraft for over two years. In February, it announced that the air taxi completed “the world’s first inter-city electric air-taxi” flight between the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai.
The aircraft took around 20 minutes to complete the 50km route across the Pearl River Delta, which would take around three hours by car. It used one of 100 flightpaths that have been set out by the local government for eVTOL aircraft.
While the demonstration was uncrewed and fully autonomous, the firm believes it will get certification for crewed passenger flights within the next couple of years.
The company also recently announced that its CarryAll aircraft, the cargo variant of Prosperity, obtained type certification from the CAAC. According to the company, this marks a global first for an eVTOL weighing more than one tonne being cleared by regulators.
In an article in the Financial Times, Kellen Xie, AutoFlight vice-president, said that while the company is also seeking similar approvals in Europe, the CAAC has been “quite supportive” of the new industry.
In another milestone, at the start of April, AutoFlight announced it had delivered its first Prosperity demonstrator aircraft to a customer in Japan, which the company claims marks “the world’s inaugural delivery of a civilian ton-class eVTOL aircraft”.
The race to bring flying taxis to our skies is truly on.
Interestingly, the Prosperity was designed by Frank Stephenson, the automotive designer behind the redesign of the Mini and the Fiat 500, as well as being known for creating iconic designs for Ferrari, McLaren and Maserati, among many others. In the video below, he talks about turning his hand to designing a flying taxi.
