China remains a dark horse when it comes to the eVTOL industry. Just when you think you know all of the different Chinese companies involved in the UAM industry another pops out of the woodwork.

Thanks to some excellent research work by Canadian journalist, Jennifer Meszaros, who works for the Air Current amongst other publications, her feature about the company was first published in APAC Aviation Insights earlier this month and was then picked up by medium.com this week.

The company is EVT Aerotechnics, who reached a milestone on March 31st with a successful maiden flight of its self-developed prototype eVTOL called the ET9. The company plans to continue with its test flights and proceed towards the airworthiness verification phase.

Founded in January 2022 and based in Yuhuatai, one of 11 districts of Nanjing and the capital of Jiangsu province, EVT is presently focused on the R&D development of its aircraft.

Meszaros writes, “The company’s founders and technical team have collaborated for a decade, designing and developing various aircraft models, along with several large and medium-sized drones. Aircraft include the Shaanxi Y‑8 medium-range transport plane produced by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation, as well as COMAC’s ARJ21 regional jet and the C919 narrow-body airliner.”

She continues, “Regarding ET9 specs, the eVTOL aircraft boasts a take-off weight of 2200 kg, capable of carrying up to 5 people or 500 kg and features a quadcopter-eight propeller compound wing configuration. With a maximum range of 240 kilometres and a top speed of over 200 kilometres per hour, the ET9 suits various applications like high-frequency freight transportation, specialised tourism, emergency rescue operations and urban air travel.”

Airframe manufacturing is carried out in collaboration with Linghang Composites, a subsidiary of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and wholly owned by its affiliate China Aviation Industry General Aircraft.

Meszaros explains that EVT Aerotechnics has also developed a low-altitude computing model, a 3D simulation platform and a comprehensive low-altitude situation platform. These tools gather meteorological, geographical, historical and environmental data for various applications and airspace classifications.

Using this data, the platform can monitor various elements such as three-dimensional environments, alerts, low-altitude equipment, flight requests, and jurisdictional information. It enables online control and modification of the flight status of aerial vehicles, typically following preset routes to avoid air traffic congestion and enhance travel efficiency. Moreover, during operations, the platform can intervene by rerouting or landing eVTOL and drones if there are obstacles or safety concerns along the route, preventing potential accidents.

The company aims for its primary products to hit the market no later than 2027.