2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

Front-runners like EHang are starting with sightseeing and logistics flights

China's Low-Altitude Economy Builds Path for eVTOL Air Taxi Services

Sales agreement covers a dozen CarryAll and Prosperity aircraft

Wuhan Company Orders AutoFlight's CarryAll and Prosperity eVTOLs

Japans geography makes it an appealing market for eVTOLs

In Japan, New eVTOL Aircraft Are Seen As a Way to Improve Public Transportation

Beijing-based consultant Louis Liu of DAP Technologies provides overview of China's eVTOL prospects

Lower Costs, Political Momentum Favor Chinese Advanced Air Mobility

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.

The Chinese companies will work together to develop batteries supporting longer range and higher payloads for aircraft

Battery Group CATL Invests in AutoFlight's eVTOL Aircraft Plans

In March, Chinese officials approved the CarryAll autonomous freighter version

AutoFlight Begins Chinese Certification of Prosperity eVTOL Aircraft

China's air safety regulator issued a type certificate for the CarryAll aircraft on March 22

AutoFlight Delivers First Prosperity eVTOL and Certifies Freighter

AutoFlight on Tuesday demonstrated its five-seat Prosperity eVTOL with a 50-kilometer (31-mile) flight between the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. The flight across the Pearl River Delta took 20 minutes, compared with what the company said would have required a three-hour car journey due to local traffic.
The flight was conducted without a pilot on board, but the aircraft&nbsp;did carry four crash-test mannequins of a size and weight comparable to passengers.&nbsp;
According to AutoFlight, the Shenzhen-Zhuhai route is typical of the sort of connection that eVTOL air taxi services could make. Local regional government agencies have expressed support for the new mode of public transportation as part of a plan for a so-called “low-altitude economy” built around a network of potentially thousands of vertiports across the Greater Bay Area of southern China, which&nbsp;also includes Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangzhou. 
Several other eVTOL manufacturers, including EHang and Zhuhai, are seeking to get their products established in <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-07-25/shenzhens-baoan-district-bids-become-advanced-air-mobility-hub-china">China's Guangdong province</a>. The region’s population is around 86 million and the airspace borders several international airports.
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<div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blockmediaimagefield-caption">
 
 
 
 <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">The Greater Bay Area in southern China is viewed as a likely early adopter of eVTOL air taxi services. (Image: AutoFlight)</div>
 
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<figcaption>The Greater Bay Area in southern China is viewed as a likely early adopter of eVTOL air taxi services. (Image: AutoFlight)</figcaption>
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AutoFlight has logged around 10,000 flight hours with various iterations of the aircraft, which has a range of 250 kilometers (156 miles). These include the CarryAll freight-carrying version, which will be able to carry a 400-kilogram payload&nbsp;(880 pounds).
Recently, Chinese rotorcraft operator Heli-Eastern signed an agreement to acquire 100 of the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-03-01/autoflight-claims-evtol-flight-distance-record-latest-prosperity-i">Prosperity aircraft</a>. It plans to use these for routes connecting points such as Shenzhen’s Shekou ferry port and the Jiuzhou ferry port in Zhuhai.
<h3 class="subheading">Commercial Service Starts with Freight as Safety Proving Ground</h3>
According to Federico Nordenstahl, AutoFlight’s CFO and managing director for Europe, the company has now conducted all the required tests to achieve type certification for the CarryAll aircraft with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The company hopes to get this approval in the coming months so that it can start commercial cargo operations, to get the passenger-carrying Prosperity aircraft approved around 12 months later. It hopes&nbsp;to conduct as many as 300,000 autonomous cargo flights in the Greater Bay Area.
“Our aim is to show how early [freight] operations could be made uncrewed on preprogrammed missions with control station [staff] on the ground who could take over the controls,” Nordenstahl explained. “It is important to start with cargo to gain operational experience and demonstrate safety.”
As with the CAAC’s type certification of EHang’s EH216-S eVTOL vehicle in October 2023, AutoFlight expects the CarryAll, and later the Prosperity, to enter service in China with operational restrictions. For instance, it is unlikely to operate up to its full range in the early stages and early use cases could include express courier service deliveries.
Regardless, Nordenstahl said that the aircraft’s relatively long range for an eVTOL model with current battery technology is significant because it will support operational flexibility. The company says its performance is superior to that of rival lift-and-cruise eVTOL designs thanks to its fixed-wing architecture, 10 lift propellers, and three&nbsp;pushers. “The range matters in terms of unit economics because operators won’t need to stop [so often] to recharge the batteries and so there will be less unused time for the aircraft,” he explained to AIN.
AutoFlight has been working with partners&nbsp;to introduce more advanced batteries and expects to provide more details about these once it achieves initial type certification. Nordenstahl said that the company’s headquarters near Shanghai has the advantage of being close to multiple battery technology leaders.
<h3 class="subheading">Middle East Is the Next Target Market</h3>
Beyond China, <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-02-22/autoflight-promises-air-mobility-cost-revolution-its-prosperity-i-evtol">AutoFlight,</a> which has a European subsidiary in Germany, had planned to seek EASA type certification next. However, the company now views its next target markets as being in the Middle East, and it is in talks with aviation authorities in the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.
Nordenstahl indicated that it is preparing to conduct demonstration flights in the UAE and Saudi Arabia later this year. AutoFlight is eager to tap the region’s apparent desire to be an early adopter of advanced air mobility as evidenced by Dubai’s recent agreement with U.S. eVTOL manufacturer Joby Aviation. It is in talks with prospective operators in the region for applications such as supporting offshore oil and gas platforms.
With production facilities already established in China, AutoFlight feels the lower manufacturing costs available in the country will give it an advantage over Western rivals. During the Paris Air Show in June 2023, company executives indicated to reporters that it expects the price tag for the Prosperity to be between $1.5 million and $2 million.

Managing Editor

AutoFlight's Prosperity eVTOL Aircraft Conducts Autonomous Flight Demo between Shenzen and Zhuhai

Autoflight, a Chinese start-up developing autonomous and electric aircraft for passengers and cargo, has secured a major order from Singapore-based fleet-management and air-transport company EvFly for 205 <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/autoflight-evtol">Prosperity I</a> and Prosperity Cargo electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the company announced Thursday.&nbsp;
Expected to be delivered in 2025, the first 10 Prosperity aircraft will operate in Middle Eastern markets such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-08-25/evfly-shops-evtol-and-ectol-aircraft-support-asian-air-mobility-service">EvFly</a>—which&nbsp;plans to eventually deploy additional units in Asia and Africa—aims to operate both eVTOL aircraft and electric airplanes (also known as conventional-takeoff-and-landing aircraft, or eCTOLs) on those continents as well as in&nbsp;the Middle East. Last year, the company signed a letter of intent with French eVTOL developer <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-07-29/six-commercial-operators-commit-adding-atea-evtol-aircraft-fleets">Ascendance Flight Technologies</a> for up to 65 of its four-passenger Atea aircraft.
“This is a fantastic deal and illustrates just a few of the many geographies that will benefit from eVTOLs in both cargo and personal mobility,” AutoFlight president Omer Bar-Yohay said of the EvFly order. “The team at EvFly has a proven track record in successfully managing freight and cargo businesses, and we’re delighted to be partnering with them in what could be one of the first commercial eVTOL operations in the world.”
The news comes on the heels of AutoFlight’s recent announcement claiming that the company <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-03-01/autoflight-claims-evtol-flight-distance-record-latest-prosperity-i">set a new record</a> for the world’s longest flight by an eVTOL aircraft on a single charge. According to AutoFlight, its remotely piloted, fourth-generation Prosperity I eVTOL prototype flew 250.3 kilometers (156.4 miles) from its research and development site in southern Germany. The company has also conducted extensive flight testing with earlier prototypes in China, including hundreds of full transitions from vertical lift to cruise flight—something not many eVTOL developers have been able to achieve.&nbsp;
“AutoFlight has a proven aircraft, as demonstrated by their world-record flight and thousands of additional flight test miles,” said EvFly founder and CEO Yannick Erbs. “They are a natural choice for EvFly, as both parties will bring expertise to the nascent eVTOL cargo and passenger markets.”
AutoFlight’s Prosperity vehicles can be configured to carry either three passengers and one pilot, or about 900 pounds (400 kilograms) of cargo in an unpiloted, autonomous version. Eventually, the company hopes to offer fully autonomous passenger flights, too, but it will begin passenger operations with a safety pilot on board to oversee the highly automated operation of the aircraft.

Science & Technology Editor

Hanneke Weitering

EvFly Orders 205 AutoFlight eVTOL Aircraft for Passengers and Cargo

AutoFlight is claiming a world record for the longest flight by an eVTOL aircraft on a single electric charge. On March 2, the company reported that its latest Generation 4 prototype has flown 250.3&nbsp;kilometers&nbsp;(156.4&nbsp;miles), which is three kilometers longer than the distance covered by Joby Aviation’s prototype during a test flight in July 2021.
The Generation 4 flight took place at AutoFlight’s <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-01-18/chinas-autoflight-establishes-european-subsidiary-advance-evtol-plans">development site at Augsburg</a> in southern Germany on February 23. The latest prototype of the China-based group’s four-seat Prosperity I design was remotely piloted as it completed 20 circuits of a predefined flight track.
Back in July 2021, Joby flew its prototype&nbsp;154.6 miles (247.36 kilometers), taking one hour and 17 minutes to complete 11 laps of a predefined circuit. It conducted that flight&nbsp;at the company’s Electric Flight Base in Big Sur, California.
According to AutoFlight, to accurately track the distance flown by the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/autoflight-evtol">Prosperty I</a> aircraft, it installed two additional avionics systems provided by ForeFlight and Stratus GPS to run in tandem with its own cockpit suite. The company said it considers the flight a key milestone in its efforts to achieve EASA type certification in 2025&nbsp;and to prove the aircraft’s ability to operate commercially on sectors of up to 250 kilometers and at speeds above 200 km/h. 
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<h3 class="subheading">Multiple Transition Flights Achieved</h3>
During previous flight tests in China with earlier versions of the eVTOL design, AutoFlight says, it conducted hundreds of full transitions from vertical lift to horizontal cruise. Relatively few full-scale lift-and-cruise eVTOL prototypes have achieved this critical maneuver so far.
Design work for the Generation 4 aircraft has been led by automotive designer Frank Stephenson, who is known for his work on car brands such as Ferrari, Maserati, McLaren, and Mini. AutoFlight intends to manufacture the all-electric eVTOL vehicle in China at a <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-02-22/autoflight-promises-air-mobility-cost-revolution-its-prosperity-i-evtol">unit price of around $150,000</a>, which it says is far less than Western-made competitors' products would cost.
In October 2022, AutoFlight appointed a new <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-10-04/chinas-autoflight-appoints-us-leadership-team-prosperity-evtol-aircraft">U.S.-based leadership team </a>to achieve its objective of having the aircraft certified and ready&nbsp;to start commercial services in 2026. The company appointed Eviation Aircraft’s founder and former CEO, Omer Bar-Yohay, as its president. It also named&nbsp;Joby Aviation’s former head of business development, Chad Cashin, as its chief commercial officer.
“This flight is both a great celebratory milestone and a testament to the team’s incredible effort and progress in testing and incrementally pushing the aircraft’s performance envelope,” Bar-Yohay commented. “It’s a remarkable achievement that shows our aircraft’s capability, and we are excited to continue working towards our next goals all the way to EASA certification in 2025.”
At a U.S. base now under development at Napa County Airport in California, AutoFlight intends to expand the flight envelope for the current version of the Prosperity model later this year.&nbsp;The company’s expanded U.S. subsidiary is&nbsp;working alongside th<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-01-18/chinas-autoflight-establishes-european-subsidiary-advance-evtol-plans">e design organization</a> it established earlier last year in Augsburg and its manufacturing hub near Shanghai.
Cashin told FutureFlight that the company may soon exploit opportunities to conduct additional flight tests in other locations. He said that it already has the manufacturing capacity to build 10 or more of the Generation 4 aircraft annually.
The Prosperity I design is not yet frozen and the aircraft being used for flight tests is not a conforming prototype. “There’s only so much one can learn from computer models for their aircraft and the key to any successful certification effort is flying the aircraft,” Cashin said. “AutoFlight is taking learnings from this generation of aircraft and quickly progressing towards the conforming prototype stage.”
This story was updated on March 2 to amend the reported flight duration of the AutoFlight prototype aircraft to 250.3 km.

AutoFlight

News

China's Low-Altitude Economy Builds Path for eVTOL Air Taxi Services

Wuhan Company Orders AutoFlight's CarryAll and Prosperity eVTOLs

In Japan, New eVTOL Aircraft Are Seen As a Way to Improve Public Transportation

Lower Costs, Political Momentum Favor Chinese Advanced Air Mobility

Battery Group CATL Invests in AutoFlight's eVTOL Aircraft Plans

AutoFlight Begins Chinese Certification of Prosperity eVTOL Aircraft

AutoFlight Delivers First Prosperity eVTOL and Certifies Freighter

AutoFlight's Prosperity eVTOL Aircraft Conducts Autonomous Flight Demo between Shenzen and Zhuhai

EvFly Orders 205 AutoFlight eVTOL Aircraft for Passengers and Cargo

AutoFlight Claims eVTOL Flight Distance Record with Latest Prosperity I Prototype

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