The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has accepted AutoFlight’s application for type certification of its Prosperity I eVTOL aircraft. The Shanghai-based manufacturer announced the landmark on April 30, just over a month after it completed Chinese type certification for its CarryAll autonomous freighter version of the aircraft.
AutoFlight aims to be the second eVTOL developer to achieve type certification in China after EHang got this approval in October 2023. In early April, the CAAC issued EHang a production certificate, clearing the way for higher-volume manufacturing of its two-seat EH216-S vehicle. According to AutoFlight, it is the first company in the world to achieve type certification for an eVTOL model weighing more than one metric ton.
The five-seat, piloted Prosperity I is expected to have a maximum range of 250 kilometers (155 miles). The company has already conducted around 10,000 flight hours with various versions of the lift-and-cruise design.
In February, AutoFlight conducted public demonstrations with the Prosperity aircraft by flying between the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. It has already delivered an example of the aircraft to an undisclosed prospective customer in Japan to support efforts to conduct flights during the Osaka World Expo in 2025.