CHINA/GERMANY. Chinese electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) pioneer Autoflight has established a new base at Augsburg Airport. The company said the move is a key step towards the first commercial flights of its air taxi, named Prosperity I.
The new AutoFlight European operation will led by former Airbus executive Mark Henning. The team’s primary goal is to achieve European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for the new four-seat air taxi.
“We are bringing aircraft construction back to Augsburg, creating a high-tech location and jobs as we build drones and create a completely new market segment for air taxis” – AutoFlight Europe Managing Director Mark Henning
The eVTOL aircraft has a range of approximately 250 kilometres, seating a pilot and three passengers. Prosperity I is AutoFlight’s first manned aircraft, extending the company’s focus which has to date been primarily on unmanned cargo drones.
The certification programme for Prosperity I – which made its maiden flight last October – will begin this year, with completion expected by 2025. The target is for the first commercial flights to happen in the same year.
Shanghai-headquartered AutoFlight – whose Germany-based team will work from its newly-formed R&D and Certification Centre in Augsburg – plans to establish additional locations for test and demonstration flights across Europe.
New AutoFlight Europe Managing Director Henning is an aeronautical engineer and graduate of Munich’s Technical University who has worked in the aviation industry for over 25 years. He started his career at DASA and held leadership positions at EADS and Eurocopter.
Previously, Henning was Manager for Governmental Business at the helicopter division of Airbus and Head of Product EC135. He has also held positions in programme management, strategy, production and development and has worked for the Airbus Group in Indonesia, South Korea, Israel, South Africa and the US.
Henning said: “We are bringing aircraft construction back to Augsburg, creating a high-tech location and jobs as we build drones and create a completely new market segment for air taxis. What I really like about AutoFlight and ‘Prosperity I’ is the underlying simple concept. Simplicity translates into safety and efficiency.”
AutoFlight – founded by Chief Executive Officer Tian Yu – is one of the earliest tech companies in China to design and manufacture autonomous eVTOL, including large payload logistics and autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The company has completed more than 10,000 takeoffs and landings with its aircraft in adverse weather conditions.
In 2021, Autoflight attracted a US$100 million investment from German company Team Global.
Note: The Moodie Davitt Report is set to launch a newsletter dedicated to urban air mobility, one of the most exciting and high-potential elements of the modern global aviation sector. You can read about our move into the subject in this story here.
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