This article is extracted from the most recent edition of Civil Helicopter Fleet Report. To read the full article, please download our Civil Helicopter Fleet Report YE 2023.
EVTOL DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA-PACIFIC CONTINUES TO ACCELERATE, WITH MAINLAND CHINA EXPEDITING MODEL CERTIFICATIONS.
2023 proved to be a remarkable year, not only hastening the recovery of civil aviation and the business aviation industries but also seeing the continued focus among manufacturers in the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector.
In Asia-Pacific, manufacturers from mainland China are escalating their activities, notably by intensifying collaborations with the government and securing varying numbers of orders. Major AAM manufacturers in the region are also actively progressing with flight tests of prototypes, gathering data to prepare for future mass production and deliveries.
In this section we take a look at the major AAM manufacturers in Asia-Pacific to see how far along they are in their plans to bring their AAM aircraft to market.
Mainland China
AeroFugia is part of Geely Technology Group’s innovative general aviation strategy. Its AE200 eVTOL has been designed to have a similar layout to a commercial aircraft and will typically seat four passengers and one pilot. It features large windows, providing passengers with a panoramic aerial view.
AeroFugia primarily focused on the validation of critical aircraft technologies through flight tests during 2023, with flight safety data accumulated during this period used to facilitate the smooth process of obtaining the airworthiness certificate. On January 17, 2023, its AE200 X01 prototype successfully conducted its maiden flight. During the 2023 International E-Flight Forum (Kunshan) at the end of November 2023, AeroFugia released its latest model configuration named the AE200Y. Building upon the “Eight-Axis Quad Tilt”, the company further clarified the airworthiness model configuration will be “Eight-Axis Inner Quad Tilt” power layout. The company stated that the prototype of the newly released configuration hasnbeen assembled, and ongoing flight and performance testing are underway, aiming to enter the commercial market as soon as possible. The company stated that the aircraft model is expected to obtain its airworthiness certificate within three to five years.
By June 2023, AeroFugia had successfully completed its Series A financing, accumulating an investment of over USD $13.89 million. Subsequently in July, it successfully signed an agreement with Sino Jet for 100 AE200 aircraft.
Headquartered in Shanghai, AutoFlight has established research and certification centers in Germany, operational and testing centers in the United States, a composite material factory in Shandong, China, and a manufacturing plant in Jiangsu, China. In February 2023, AutoFlight’s Prosperity I eVTOL flew for 250.3 kilometers in a single-flight, and in doing so set a global record for 2-ton-class eVTOLs. This flight record demonstrated that the Prosperity I can cruise at a speed of 200 km/h for 250 kilometers, laying the foundation for subsequent certification work with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Meanwhile, AutoFlight’s other self-developed cargo eVTOL, the V2000CG (Carryall), is actively conducting validation test flights in various locations, with the company collaborating closely with CAAC to obtain its airworthiness certificate as soon as possible.
In addition, AutoFlight announced a procurement contract with EVFLY in March 2023, which should see the operator acquire a total of 205 Prosperity I passenger aircraft and Carryall cargo aircraft.
In the second half of the year, AutoFlight continued expanded its presence in the mainland market, with Heli-Eastern announcing in September its purchase of 100 Prosperity I aircraft. In December 2023, AutoFlight stated that two-thirds of the airworthiness verification for the V2000CG had been completed.
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