2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Chinese eVTOL aircraft developer AutoFlight says it has raised a further $100 million through a Series A investment round. The company, which so far has been primarily focused on bringing cargo-carrying vehicles to market, received most of the fresh backing from European technology investor Lukasz Gadowski and his company, Team Global.
In a November 22 announcement, the Shanghai-based AutoFlight&nbsp;reported that in October it achieved the first flight with its V1500M proof-of-concept passenger aircraft. It said it&nbsp;is now stepping up certification work in China, with plans to also seek EASA approval. 
The company aims to have the all-electric vehicle certified in 2024&nbsp;and claims to have logged more than 10,000 flights with various iterations of its lift-and-cruise designs. It said that it is developing the flight control system in-house, but declined to provide any further details about this or other key aircraft systems.
“We are very proud and excited to partner with such an amazing company as AutoFlight, its fantastic team, and its founder, Tian Yu,” said Gadowski. “The world doesn’t need to build more roads; it needs to preserve resources and nature. Autonomous air mobility is an emerging industry ready to grow, and I am convinced that AutoFlight will be one of its big players.”
The V1500M will be AutoFlight’s largest eVTOL vehicle to date, with a maximum takeoff weight of 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) and a range of just over 250 km (156 miles). The company has released few details about the V1500M's propulsion system and flight controls.
AutoFlight is also developing smaller cargo-only, fully autonomous vehicles, including the V400 Albatross with a 100-kg payload and 210-km range, and the V50 with a 20-kg payload and a range of up to 500 km. In July, the Civil Aviation Administration of China accepted AutoFlight’s application to certify the V400. In 2019 it unveiled a design for what appeared to be a two-seat V600 model that now seems to have been replaced by the larger V1500M.
Berlin-based Team Global has taken stakes in around a dozen aviation start-ups, including those involved in developing drones and flight-control technology. The finance group says it is prioritizing investments in sustainable aviation and is looking to back leading contenders in each region of the world. Reportedly, Gadowski has also invested in other advanced air mobility start-ups including Volocopter, Archer, and ZeroAvia.
According to AutoFlight, it already has a 2.3-million-square-foot manufacturing facility at Dinfeng in China. The company employs around 300 people and plans to double the payroll within&nbsp;12 months.
It faces domestic competition in China from rival eVTOL aircraft developer EHang, which claims to be close to bringing its two-seat EHang 216 into production and also has plans for a longer-range model.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

AutoFlight Lands $100 Million Investment in V1500M Passenger eVTOL Vehicle

Autoflight Aviation Technology introduced the latest member of its family of autonomous eVTOL aircraft, the V400 Albatross, on September 13 at the World UAV Conference in Shenzhen, China. The Chinese company is starting with cargo-carrying unmanned aircraft for logistics operations&nbsp;but has already committed to developing larger eVTOL models for passenger services.
The V400 will offer a payload of 100 kg (220 pounds) and be available with all-electric propulsion, for which the maximum range will be 300 km (186 miles), rising to 1,000 km for a hybrid electric version. Shanghai-based Autoflight says that it intends to start test flying the V400 by the end of 2020 and that it has already begun taking orders for the aircraft. In addition to light freight deliveries, the company envisages the model being used for applications such as disaster relief and media support.
The new design features six sets of propellers, with three positioned on each of two parallel beams that connect the V400’s fixed wing to its canard. The all-composite aircraft has two additional tail-mounted propellers. The propulsion system for the all-electric version is based on two motors working in a push-pull configuration, while the hybrid model has a combustion engine at the rear.
Autoflight says that it has developed its own flight-control system, incorporating sense and avoid sensors and radar. The aircraft also has an integrated 4G/5G mobile network to support multi-channel communications. A whole aircraft parachute will be an optional safety feature.
The company has not yet published a proposed timeline for achieving type certification of the V400. However, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has already granted flight permits and approvals for trial logistical operations to other eVTOL developers such as EHang.
Autoflight presented a prototype of the two-seat V600 eVTOL model at the Aero Expo show in Germany in April 2019. Then last November, it announced plans for a larger unmanned V1000 cargo drone at the e-Flight Forum in China. The company has research and development facilities in Shenzhen and in Munich,&nbsp;Germany
Electric aviation entrepreneur Tian Yu founded Autoflight in 2016 and has been working on&nbsp;new designs for more than a decade. He previously founded consumer drone manufacturer Yuneec.
Tian’s earlier projects include the E340 two-seat electric ultralight, which first flew in June 2009 and was certified in November 2017 by German sports aviation agency DULV. Other designs being developed by Autoflight include the V50 White Shark electric drone, which achieved a flight lasting more than six hours on May 19, 2020, and the F240 firefighting multicopter, which can carry 100 kg (220 pounds) of flame-retardant materials.
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AutoFlight Lands $100 Million Investment in V1500M Passenger eVTOL Vehicle

Autoflight Unveils Cargo eVTOL and Plans for Passenger Aircraft

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