The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has officially accepted AutoFlight’s application for the Type Certificate (TC) of their Prosperity 5-seater electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The certification process commenced on April 26, 2024. Prosperity is equipped with a pure electric propulsion system, has a maximum take-off weight of 2,200 kg, and features a 5-seat cabin design. Its ‘lift and cruise’ wing configuration allows for vertical take-off, similar to a multi-rotor aircraft or helicopter. Once in flight mode, it transitions to fixed-wing flight for horizontal cruising. With its versatility in take-off and landing, efficiency, convenience, and environmental safety, it stands as an ideal choice for ‘air taxis’. The eVTOL aircraft will be utilised for point-to-point air travel within cities and intercity areas, with the objective being to ultimately offer pricing similar to ground-based car services.
Obtaining airworthiness certification is the initial threshold to ensure aircraft flight safety, and is also the prerequisite for aircraft to enter commercial operation. On March 22, 2024, the CarryAll unmanned aircraft system independently developed by AutoFlight obtained the Type Certificate (TC) issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), becoming the world’s first eVTOL aircraft above one ton to pass type certification.
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 up to 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.
Dr Abdulghani Mohamed, Advanced Air Mobility researcher at RMIT university Melbourne, Australia said, “The low-altitude economy, also called Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), is gaining considerable international attention and China is not the only country focused on this developing technology.
“This emerging sector offers the potential to revolutionise transportation by using fully electric aircraft to move people and parcels autonomously – thereby reducing road traffic.
“Air vehicle manufacturers promise lower operating costs and enhanced accessibility, presenting significant benefits such as rapid cargo and medical transportation.
“Additionally, AAM can improve tourist access to regional areas, boosting local economies.
“There are several challenges which both industry and academics worldwide are working on solving, particularly focused on safe and sustainable operation of this new mode of transport.
“This includes safe flight routes, avoiding wildlife, noise reduction and operation in windy and turbulent conditions. The latter is particularly important for site selection of a vertiport, which is essential to China—and the rest of the world—setting up its low-altitude economy.
“The routine transportation of people in autonomous airborne vehicles is expected to take several more years to become commonplace.
“This delay is largely due to the necessity of adapting aviation regulations to accommodate this innovative technology.
“Nonetheless, the progress being made in AAM signals a transformative shift in how we think about and approach transportation, promising a future where air travel is more accessible, efficient, and environmentally friendly.”
Dr Abdulghani Mohamed works across aerospace engineering, robotics, aerodynamics, turbulence modelling, biomimetics and sensors. He is internationally recognised for his research into turbulence mitigation technologies and urban flow field characterisation relevant to flight. He co-leads the RMIT Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Research Team, which undertakes internationally leading autonomous aerial vehicle research. Dr Mohamed also sits on the panel of experts for Skyportz, Australia’s leading vertiport company, and is part of the CASA’s vertiport technical working group.