An undisclosed Japanese company this week took delivery of an early example of AutoFlight’s Prosperity I eVTOL aircraft. In an announcement on April 3, the Chinese manufacturer said the aircraft has been shipped to Japan and is in the process of being transferred to the customer's premises.
AutoFlight also confirmed that it now holds type certification for the autonomous CarryAll freighter version of the aircraft, which has a payload of 440 kilograms (970 pounds). The company said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued the approval on March 22, claiming that the CarryAll has become the first eVTOL model with a maximum takeoff weight (mtow) of over 1 metric ton to achieve type certification.
Recent orders for the CarryAll, which will have an mtow of two metric tons, include a contract for 30 aircraft from logistics group ZTO Express. Shanghai-based AutoFlight has reported orders for 200 of the freighter vehicles but has not confirmed when and where the first deliveries will be made.
The CAAC type certification process covered 46 compliance verification tests covering the aircraft’s equipment, systems, and components. Flight testing included 156 sorties covering a total flight distance of more than 10,000 kilometers.
AutoFlight said the first production examples of the CarryAll aircraft will be delivered in the next few months. The first cargo delivery use cases are expected to be in mountainous regions of China.
“Successfully completing this certification was a lengthy and extremely rigorous process and I would like to thank the review team and all my colleagues for their painstaking efforts,” said AutoFlight founder and co-chairman Tian Yu. “This achievement establishes a robust foundation for AutoFlight’s forthcoming large-scale commercial operations.”
According to AutoFlight, the undisclosed Japanese operator will use the five-seat Prosperity I aircraft for demonstration flights during the Osaka World Expo event in 2025. The company will apply for a special flight permit from Japanese air safety regulators to conduct demonstration flights. It said operations at the World Expo on designated routes will not require the type certification process to be complete.
The Prosperity I is expected to have a maximum range of 250 kilometers (156 miles). AutoFlight has already reported around 10,000 flight hours in testing various iterations of the aircraft.