AutoFlight delivered the world’s first commercial electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to a Japanese company. This 5-seat Prosperity aircraft is designed for civilian use and weighs over a ton. The unnamed Japanese customer plans to use the aircraft for demonstration flights at the 2025 Osaka World Expo and for future urban air mobility (AAM) services in Japan.
AutoFlight also achieved another milestone with its cargo variant of the Prosperity, named CarryAll. This electric, self-flying cargo plane became the world’s first eVTOL exceeding one ton to receive type certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). This certification is crucial for ensuring the safety and commercial operation of the aircraft.
The CarryAll weighs up to 2 tons and underwent a rigorous certification process that examined its performance, stability, power system, structure, batteries, avionics, and flight capabilities. This included inspections, witnessing of tests at various levels (equipment, system, component), and flight tests with the prototype. The prototype completed 156 flights exceeding 10,000 kilometers in total to demonstrate its compliance.
The strong market demand for CarryAll is evident by the recent order of 200 units. Notably, 30 of these will be delivered to ZTO Express, a major logistics company.
Reference- AutoFlight Newsroom, PR Newswire, Interesting Engineering, Aviation Pulse, Clean Technica