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| Volocopter’s VoloCity. |
The 13th annual air show in China looks to be a lucky one for people who hate sitting in traffic, as three companies are showing their all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (Vtol) aircrafts.
These eVtols are the vanguard of many more that promise passengers the freedom of the skies in the as yet unexploited transport niche called urban air mobility (UAM).
The XPeng X2, developed by Xpeng and Chinese company HT Aero, is typical of the breed.
Basically a giant drone that flies itself, it has two seats, can carry 760 kg, cruise at 130 km/h and fly for 35 minutes at just under 1 000 metres. A kilometre up in the sky is the ceiling that urban planners have in mind for what HT Aero calls “human urban three-dimensional transportation”.
In typical vague Chinese style, HT Aero says the XPeng X2 has conducted over “15 000 safe, manned flights”, but did not say how long, at what altitude and in what weather these tests flights took place.
But the prototypes have been tested since Witness Wheels first wrote about the similar eHang being tested and approved by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority in 2017.
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| The XPeng X2 from the Chinese company HT Aero. |
Geely picks Volocopter
German urban air mobility company Volocopter has all these numbers to hand, which may be why Geely Technology Group, Aerofugia, has ordered 150 giant drones from the Germans.
Volocopter has three proven eVtols for sale, the VoloCity and VoloConnect for passengers, and a heavy-lift drone, the VoloDrone.
Volocopter Chengdu CEO Guo Liang said in a presentation that China faces talent shortages, especially in areas of general aviation, and autonomous UAM solutions are likely to overcome that manpower challenge. Guo added that before carrying passengers, they will use the VoloDrone to transport cargo to prove reliability and increase confidence in these flying bakkies.
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| The fixed wing NextGen four-seater from U.S. company Airbus. |
Airbus hovers with fixed wings
Airbus is bucking the giant drone trend by using fixed wings in its NextGen eVtol.
Revealed last week at the Company’s first #AirbusSummit, the aircraft has eight electric motors powering eight four-blade propellers. Interestingly, the aircraft has no titling wings, relying instead on a V-shaped tail and fixed wings to hover and fly forward.
While it has seats for four people, Airbus is being coy about the payload, focusing instead on how quietly the craft operates, “quiet” being a relative term, as Airbus aims to get the motors to be no louder than a leaf blower, which operates between 64 to 78 decibels.
Joerg P. Mueller, head of urban air mobility at Airbus, said during the summit that Airbus aims to launch its eVtol with a range of 80 kilometres and speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour. He said Airbus plans to fly a prototype of the CityAirbus NextGen by 2023 and is predicting certification by 2025.
