AutoFlight delivers first eVTOL to customer in Japan

April 16, 2024

AutoFlight, a start-up focused on electric aerial vehicles for logistics and urban air mobility solutions, has officially delivered its first Prosperity eVTOL aircraft to a customer in Japan. This marks the world’s first delivery of a civilian ton-class eVTOL (electric-vertical-take-off-and-landing) aircraft. The customer, an Advanced Air Mobility operator in Japan, is planning demonstration eVTOL flights at the 2025 Osaka World Expo.

The five-seater Prosperity aircraft is part of the operator’s wider Advanced Air Mobility rollout in Japan. In another recent achievement, 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. This certification is the first of its kind for an eVTOL aircraft above one ton.

The CarryAll, with a maximum take-off weight of 2 tons, operates autonomously and on electric power. Its compliance verification covered various aspects, including performance control, stability, lift/thrust system, structural strength/composite blades, battery system, avionics system, electrical system, and flight performance. The certification process involved manufacturing compliance inspections and 46 major compliance verification tests at the equipment, system, and structural component levels. The CarryAll airworthiness certification prototype completed eight major compliance tests, involving 156 flights and exceeding a total flight distance of 10,000 kms.

In February, AutoFlight demonstrated the world’s first inter-city electric air taxi flight between the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. The Prosperity aircraft autonomously flew the 50km (31 miles) route from Shenzhen to Zhuhai in 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.

AutoFlight has been at the forefront of innovations in the electric air taxi landscape, setting world records for single battery charge flight distances (250.3km/155 miles), and carrying out a ground-breaking formation flight of three autonomous eVTOL aircraft. To date, AutoFlight has completed more than 10,000 eVTOL flights. Their product range includes large-scale logistics aircraft and passenger aerial vehicles, with in-house development of essential components like composite airframes, electric motors and controllers, and affordable avionics.

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.”