China’s two-ton electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft developed with domestic technology has successfully completed its test flight.
The aircraft developed with domestic technology is considered as the “air taxi” of the future.
Developed and designed by a company called Shanghai Aviation Technology, the air taxi M1 is 10 meters long, 3 meters high, has a wingspan of 15 meters and weighs 2 tons.
The M1 also has a design range of 250 kilometers and a cruising speed of 200 kilometers per hour, with a maximum load capacity of 500 kg and can carry 5 people at the same time.
Experts have argued that China is at the forefront of the world in both unmanned aircraft and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
The aircraft, which is similar to unmanned aerial vehicles, does not require a runway and can take off and land vertically, with low noise and zero carbon emissions as it is powered by electricity. The M1 requires only 2 to 3 people to complete the assembly and assembly process. The secret of why it is so easy lies in its ultra-light carbon fiber skin.
Xu Dongsong, Assistant Researcher of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, noted that China currently ranks first in the world in both eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) and UAVs.