A tweet about the autonomous Xpeng AeroHT X2 eVTOL was posted this week, showing a film of this aircraft flying across the Xiang river in Changsa, Huna Province. The eVTOL took off from the left bank of the river and after flying for four minutes and covering 1.5 km, landed at Zhoutou Square on the other side.
In fact, the story was first picked up by carnewschina.com last weekend with several videos of the event alongside. The website article offers good background information about the Xpeng X2.
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AeroHT was founded in 2013 by Zhao Deli with financial support from Xpeng CEO, He Xiaopeng. The company’s name was initially Heitech, but recently was changed to AeroHT. Its first-generation flying vehicle debuted back in 2016 and four years later Heitech launched its fifth-gen. In 2021, Xpeng Heitech completed a Series A Financing Round attracting a whopping USD500 million. The X2 was initially named Voyager 2 but this was changed to reflect the Xpeng car manufacturer’s association.
AeroHT says this is China’s first flying vehicle cross-river flight and a significant milestone in the development of autonomous technology. Before this event the Xpeng X2 had undergone nearly 4,000 trials including flying over various locations, such as urban CBDs, sea areas and deserts.
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Unlike delivery drones, which usually only have four motors, the X2 is an octocopter, where each “arm” has a pair of engines and propellers. This provides extra thrust and adds some redundancy, where the craft can maintain flight if one motor fails. If more fail, a built-in parachute helps cushion the fall.
The airframe dimensions are (L/W/H) 5172/5124/1362 mm, respectively. When folded, these dimensions are 4949/2113/2055 mm. The curb weight is 680 kg and it can carry a maximum payload of 160 kg. The X2 is a two-seater, so it can carry two 80 kg passengers. The body is constructed mainly from carbon materials.
The craft’s flying endurance is 25 minutes. According to the company, the commercial version will hit the market in 2025 and offer an extended-range of options. An average cost to purchase this vehicle will be around USD150,000.
In January, Xpeng X2 received the conditions flight permit from the CAAC, becoming the first such flying vehicle in China to obtain one. There is one downside though to this exciting story. As the videos prove, the aircraft is noisy. And what of its autonomous nature? How will this work given the industry’s nascent nature? Being ahead of the curve can be a problem.
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(News Source: https://carnewschina.com/)
