EVTOL developer AutoFlight has delivered its first Prosperity aircraft to a customer in Japan, a milestone claimed to be the world’s inaugural delivery of a civilian ton-class eVTOL aircraft.
AutoFlight’s CarryAll aircraft, the cargo variant of Prosperity, obtained Type Certification (TC) from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on March 22, 2024, which the company claims to be another world first.
Tian Yu, founder and co-chairman of AutoFlight, said: “The official delivery of the first Prosperity to a customer signifies a new chapter for AutoFlight as we begin to ship our innovative electric aircraft to global markets. Additionally, on the cargo side the receipt of orders for over 200 CarryAll planes already demonstrates a very strong market demand for our products.”
Securing TC airworthiness certification is vital for ensuring the safety and market entry of the aircraft for commercial operations. The CarryAll, with a maximum take-off weight of 2 tons, operates autonomously and on electric power. The airworthiness certification prototype completed eight major compliance tests, including plateau performance, data link and ground station functions, involving 156 flights and exceeding a total flight distance of 10,000 kms.
In February, AutoFlight presented the world’s first inter-city electric air taxi demonstration flight between the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. AutoFlight’s Prosperity aircraft completed the significant milestone by autonomously flying the 50km (31 miles) route from Shenzhen to Zhuhai. The flight across the Pearl River Delta took just 20 minutes, a journey that would require three hours by car. This achievement marks the world’s first public flight of an eVTOL aircraft on a cross-sea and inter-city route.
The route between Shenzhen and Zhuhai is part of the future air traffic scenario planned by the regional government as it develops its ‘low-altitude economy’ strategy that will see the opening of thousands of vertiports and hundreds of eVTOL air routes across the Greater Bay Area in southern China.
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