Chinese start-up AutoFlight’s ‘flying car’ claims new world record for distance flown, as Shanghai firm gears up for increased production
- AutoFlight’s Prosperity I air taxi reached a distance of 250.3 kilometres during a recent test flight, setting a world record for such an aircraft
- Company founder Tian Yu expects the US and Europe to be the top two markets for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft like Prosperity I
The five-seater Prosperity I reached a distance of 250.3 kilometres (93.4 miles) during a test flight on February 23, which AutoFlight founder, chairman and chief executive Tian Yu claims as the longest flight of its kind in the world.
Tian said in an interview that this achievement takes his dream for eVTOLs another step to being realised. “I believe in the long run that eVTOLs will provide a good solution to traffic congestion and revolutionise the way of travel and lifestyle,” he told the South China Morning Post.
“Helicopters are very expensive and noisy,” he said. “Operating a helicopter costs up to US$2,000 per hour, but operating an eVTOL would cost only about one-tenth or one-twentieth [by comparison], which would make it affordable.”
Without the need to use runways, eVTOLs are also more efficient to operate, easy to maintain and environmentally friendly, he added. Prosperity I uses rotors to lift itself vertically for take-off and then transitions to a horizontal flight on the wing, like a traditional aeroplane.