In the aerospace industry, specifically, in the area of personal air transportation, eVTOL company AutoFlight has revealed that it has achieved the world’s longest eVTOL flight with its new Gen4 aircraft.
During a flight test, which took place at AutoFlight’s eVTOL testing facility on February 23, 2023, the Gen4 aircraft flew a distance of 250 kilometers or 155 miles on a single charge of the aircraft’s lithium-ion batteries, beating the 248 km set by Joby Aviation in 2021.
The flight consisted of 20 circuits on a predefined flight track, with the plane remotely piloted from the ground by AutoFlight’s Flight Test team. In addition to the onboard AutoFlight avionics, the Gen4 was also outfitted with third-party avionics to record and verify the distance flown.
“The flight is recognized as the longest fully electric aircraft flight in history, where the aircraft both takes off and lands vertically. This long-range test flight is a key milestone in the development of the Prosperity I aircraft, as it undergoes continued testing towards the company’s goal of airworthiness certification in 2025 with EASA.”
The sleek Gen4 aircraft was penned by legendary designer Frank Stephenson. The Prosperity aircraft uses rotors to lift aircraft vertically for takeoff, after which it transitioned to horizontal flight on the wing to fly like a traditional airplane.
The transition from horizontal to forward flight is no mean feat. It is hard to achieve and often risky as Bell and Boeing can attest.
Anyhoo, the Prosperity will have a range of over 250 km (155 miles) and a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). You can learn more about AutoFlight over at its website. Remember to check out the video of the record-breaking feat embedded below.
Images: AutoFlight.
