The fourth generation of the eVTOL designed by AutoFlight was flown 250.3 kilometers during a test flight last month, setting a new record for the longest distance flown by an eVTOL aircraft. (Photo: AutoFlight)
During a test flight in February, AutoFlight’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft flew 250.3 kilometers (about 155.5 miles) on a single charge of its batteries. The company claims this is the longest flight of an eVTOL to date—the previous record, 248 km, was set by Joby Aviation in 2021.
“While AutoFlight’s Gen4 aircraft is fitted with the latest in state-of-the-art avionics, the aircraft also ran third-party avionics to record and verify the distance flown on ForeFlight, an independent system widely used in the aviation sector.” (Photo: AutoFlight)
The fourth generation of AutoFlight’s Prosperity I aircraft was remotely piloted during the test flight. The eVTOL ran third-party avionics to record and verify how far it flew while also being equipped with “the latest in state-of-the-art avionics,” according to the announcement.
AutoFlight is pursuing a 2025 goal of airworthiness certification with EASA. Its aircraft can fly upwards of 200 km per hour (about 124 miles per hour).
“It’s a remarkable achievement that shows our aircraft’s capability, and we are excited to continue working towards our next goals all the way to EASA certification in 2025.” – Omer Bar-Yohay, President of AutoFlight (Photo: AutoFlight)
“This flight is both a great celebratory milestone, and a testament to the team’s incredible effort and progress in testing and incrementally pushing the aircraft’s performance envelope,” commented president Omer Bar-Yohay on the achievement.
In January 2022, AutoFlight completed a proof-of-concept transition test flight with its aircraft. It was one of the first eVTOL developers to achieve this milestone.
In June, test flight footage of AutoFlight’s second proof-of-concept aircraft was shared with the public. This followed numerous successful flight transitions. The full-scale aircraft at the time had a range of 200 km.