Developing the Prosperity I eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) air taxi is a long-term project for Shanghai-based company AutoFlight. However, the Chinese aircraft developer is getting closer to commercial operations with each test flight it conducts, constantly modifying and improving its futuristic flying machine. The recently released proof-of-concept (POC) video shows us a version of the eVTOL that is very close to the final design.
Up until recently, AutoFlight focused mostly on cargo drones, boasting of having completed over 10,000 take-offs and landings using its unmanned aerial vehicles. Prosperity I is the company’s first manned eVTOL, with the aircraft completing its first maiden flight last October. The second POC completed 30 successful flight transitions these past weeks alone, and now, AutoFlight shares the second POC video, giving us a peek at its latest design for the air taxi.
Prosperity I now has new, optimized lifting propellers, which, as explained by the Chinese aircraft developer, allow for a higher hover efficiency. AutoFlight replaced the pushing propellers on the sides of the air taxi with a center propeller with twin motors.
What you’ll see in the test flight video below the article is a full-size version of the eVTOL that is very close to the final design, which AutoFlight plans to unveil sometime in the third quarter of this year.
The company developed the Prosperity I eVTOL to be used for relatively short trips such as airport commutes, transfers between different parts of a city, trips to the countryside, or to connect two nearby cities, to offer just a few examples. AutoFlight claims that its air taxi will be able to reduce trips that normally take hours by car, to just 10 minutes of flight. At the same time, Prosperity I will be no more expensive to use than a regular cab ride.
AutoFlight’s Prosperity I air taxi has a capacity of four people with the pilot included and claims to offer a range of 155 miles (250 km) on a charge. It boasts a cruising speed of 124 mph (200 kph). The air taxi is scheduled to begin commercial flights in 2026.
Prosperity I now has new, optimized lifting propellers, which, as explained by the Chinese aircraft developer, allow for a higher hover efficiency. AutoFlight replaced the pushing propellers on the sides of the air taxi with a center propeller with twin motors.
What you’ll see in the test flight video below the article is a full-size version of the eVTOL that is very close to the final design, which AutoFlight plans to unveil sometime in the third quarter of this year.
The company developed the Prosperity I eVTOL to be used for relatively short trips such as airport commutes, transfers between different parts of a city, trips to the countryside, or to connect two nearby cities, to offer just a few examples. AutoFlight claims that its air taxi will be able to reduce trips that normally take hours by car, to just 10 minutes of flight. At the same time, Prosperity I will be no more expensive to use than a regular cab ride.
AutoFlight’s Prosperity I air taxi has a capacity of four people with the pilot included and claims to offer a range of 155 miles (250 km) on a charge. It boasts a cruising speed of 124 mph (200 kph). The air taxi is scheduled to begin commercial flights in 2026.