AutoFlight and battery developer CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., announced “an exclusive strategic investment and cooperation agreement, a relationship valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.” Uniting these two technological leaders, the agreement provides developmental cash to AutoFlight and a platform for CATL to expand their electric aviation market. A Trip Across the Yangtze An August 1 flight across the Yangtze River highlighted how the strengths of this new relationship can grow both companies. Nanjing, an ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, is only one of 29 major cities on either side of the great river. All face the same transportation difficulties. The 5.5 kilometer straight-line distance between Nanjing UAV Base and Yuzui Wetland Park, for instance, “requires a 20 kilometer drive that takes 25 minutes. However, an eVTOL aircraft can cover this distance in just five minutes,” cutting travel time by 80 percent,” according to AutoFlight. Even worse, holiday travelers around popular tourist destinations can slow traffic by …
AutoFlight Celebrates Two Milestones
AutoFlight, the Chinese firm founded by Tian Yu (Yuneec), celebrated two milestones, although maybe not “firsts” as described in the company’s press releases. Both, however, are impressive and worthy of note. First Intercity Flight AutoFlight claims to have flown the first inter-city electric air-taxi demonstration flight between the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. In an autonomous trip, AutoFlight’s five-seat Prosperity eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) aircraft flew the 50km (31 miles) route from Shenzhen to Zhuhai. The flight across the Pearl River Delta took just 20 minutes, a journey that would require three hours by car. For those with the funds to make the flight the difference in time is incalculable. According to the company, “This marks the first public flight of an eVTOL aircraft on a cross-sea and inter-city route, spanning across the bay where the Pearl River meets the sea, connecting the two southern Chinese cities.” In 2021, Australians flew a Pipstrel Alpha Electro …
Nudging, Then Doubling an Electric Distance Record
Suddenly, we’re seeing new electric aircraft nudging, then doubling an electric distance record. First, Autoflight in China and then Beta in America achieve higher ranges than that previously achieved by Joby. Jules Verne Saw It Coming In two late 19th-century novels, Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World, Jules Verne chronicled the fictional adventurers of a mad inventor who thought he could dissuade world leaders from practicing war by bombing them from his Albatross flying warship. A great deal like Captain Nemo of Nautilus fame, Robur uses violence to stop violence. Both protagonists fail in their efforts. The Albatross, mistaken as its objectives were, is perhaps an inspiration for today’s eVTOLs, propellers spinning for lift and for forward motion. Verne even prophesied fueling the Albatross with water, perhaps an early vision of today’s water-splitting to produce green hydrogen. Autoflight With far fewer rotors and propellers, Autoflight achieved a successful transition flight from vertical liftoff to forward flight. This delicate …