Category Filtering: 'china'
In the midst of China’s reforms to promote low-altitude economic development and accelerate technological progress, tiltrotor technology has remained a relatively minor element of the local civilian aerospace sector, primarily focused on uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, including those using tiltpropeller propulsion.
Amid the attention-grabbing headlines and sweeping projections for advanced air mobility (AAM), a few companies have stood out as outliers, charting a quieter path by concentrating on research and development.
Throughout the year, a wave of new electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft companies have emerged alongside more recognized, established names like AutoFlight, EHang and XPeng AeroHT. Some are newcomers, leveraging their expertise from aerospace giants, such as AVIC and COMAC, while others — like Aerospace Times Feipeng and Hangjing Innovation — already produce uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS).
Chinese companies are rapidly advancing in the “low-altitude” sector (see “China's Low-Altitude Economy and eVTOL Diplomacy,” Vertiflite, Sept/Oct 2024), signaling a transformative era in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL).
2024 is proving to be a watershed year for China as it advances its low-altitude economy in preparation for the integration of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft operations.
On Friday, Oct. 13, EHang held a ceremony in Beijing to celebrate: the company had obtained the type certificate (TC) for its two-seat EH216-S Autonomous Air Vehicle (AAV) from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
EHang, the Guangzhou-based developer of eVTOL aircraft, announced that China’s aviation authority is close to certifying the EHang EH216.
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The number of electric VTOL designs in China is growing rapidly with significant funding.
Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, XPeng Motors, unveiled what it calls its “fifth-generation flying vehicle,” the X2, on July 16, reported the Chinese electric vehicle news site, CnEVPost.com.
EHang has been developing a human-passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft along with drones for many years (see “How EHang Build an eVTOL for the World,” Vertiflite, July/Aug 2020). Few aviation startups are poised to take advantage of manned and unmanned urban air mobility (UAM) as EHang.
