China tests first ever 10-person ‘flying taxi’
China’s Fengfei Aviation has completed the first test flight of a five-tonne electric aircraft that could reshape regional air travel
Earlier last month, an aircraft, capable of carrying 10 passengers, rose from a test pad in Jiangsu Province, hovered, and landed. The sequence lasted minutes.
The V5000 aircraft, built by Chinese aerospace firm Fengfei Aviation, weighs five tonnes and carries up to 10 passengers. Its makers say nothing like it has ever flown before.
The test took place at the Kunshan Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Test Flight Operation Base. The aircraft lifted off vertically, switched to fixed-wing flight, then returned to vertical mode to land.
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Fengfei describes it as the largest electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft ever to complete a test flight.
The V5000 comes in two versions. The passenger model is called the Sky Dragon. The freight model, the Matrix, carries roughly a tonne of cargo. Both are built around a 20-metre compound wing with 20 lift motors. The redundancy in the vehicle might sound deliberate — if some motors fail, the rest keep the aircraft airborne.
Range depends on the power source. A fully electric variant covers 250 kilometres. A hybrid version extends that to 1,500 kilometres, putting it in regional transport territory rather than the short urban routes that most rival aircraft serve.
The broader electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) market is developing quickly. Joby Aviation is preparing air taxi services in Dubai.
EHang's pilotless EH216-S already carries tourists in China. But those aircraft seat four to six people and weigh considerably less. The V5000 sits in a different category.
Fengfei holds backing from CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer. Its two-tonne cargo aircraft already holds Chinese airworthiness certification. No timeline has been announced yet for certifying the V5000.
