From the Cockpit with AutoFlight’s Kellen Xie

The cargo drone and alternative freighter market has accelerated over the past two years, with many companies in the advanced stages of certification, while others have received approval to begin BVLOS operations and are conducting test flights in controlled airspace. Last month’s Dubai Airshow featured an entire pavilion dedicated to advanced air mobility as the segment gains traction in the industry. One of the companies which had their product on display was AutoFlight. [caption id="attachment_56866249" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] The Autoflight Prosperity was on display at the Dubai Airshow 2023. (Photo/Cargo Facts)[/caption] Cargo Facts talked to Kellen Xie, senior vice president of global sales and business development at AutoFlight, about the company’s strategy for its cargo and passenger eVTOLs, approval timeline, orders and his outlook on the global market. What follows is an edited version of the conversation. Cargo Facts : What’s the background of your company? Kellen Xie: We’re a company specializing in research and development and manufacturing of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The founder [ Tian Yu] actually has pretty rich experience in terms of electric aircraft. He has over twenty years of R&D experience and that’s very crucial. He actually filed the first patent of the lift-and-cruise configuration of an eVTOL in 2011, and he’s also a pilot for both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, with a few thousand hours of flight experience. Right now, the company as a whole has about 500 employees. We have a good team in Germany that specializes in dealing with EASA certification, and then we have a large team in China that’s basically doing manufacturing and also taking care of the Asia-Pacific sales, R&D and marketing. CF : Give us an overview of AutoFlight’s products, and specifically your cargo variant. KX: We have two versions: one is the passenger version called Prosperity, and the other is a cargo variant called Carryall. Our cargo unit and the passenger unit share the same platform, but the safety level is a little different, and the cargo unit is currently undergoing CAAC certification as we speak and we are now in the last phase of the approval process, which is the verification of compliance tests. We are hoping to get the aircraft type-approved early next year, and then there will be a production certificate for the aircraft. The cargo version is capable of carrying 400-plus kilograms and its maximum takeoff weight is about 2,000 kilograms, so it is very efficient. The Carryall can transport one-fifth of its MTOW and the storage volume is around 3.2 cubic meters. The aircraft is very safe. It has ten lifting rotors and three pushers, and if any of them fail, the aircraft can still hover or cruise. CF : Was it the plan all along to build both cargo and passenger versions? KX: Yes. We are not starting with the cargo version. We are actually certifying both types simultaneously. We are certifying the cargo variant with the CAAC and in the meantime we are certifying the passenger version with EASA. The CAAC accepted our application around September last year. We have not yet decided if we will do the cargo version with EASA. For the passenger with EASA, we have already submitted an application. After we get the type certification from the CAAC for cargo, we will start immediately the passenger approval with CAAC as well. CF : Are there any other similar eVTOLs like it in the world? KX: It will be the first-ever certified cargo eVTOL of this size and type. We’re going to do trial runs with the big logistics companies, which will take place in mountainous terrains and various cities like Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Macau. We have started initial test flights at test centers in Jiangsu, Shandong and Qinghai, and have completed more than 100 flight hours. CF : How many customers or deals have you signed for the cargo version? KX: We already have customers interested and have signed pre-orders right now. In the United Arab Emirates alone we have 205 orders, but they're not all cargo. There are around thirty to fifty cargo eVTOL orders. In China, we also signed for a modified cargo variant. It will not be used for shipping goods. We built a firefighting unit from the cargo variant, which can carry up to four 100-kilogram canisters. CF : And how many orders for the cargo version in China, roughly? KX: About 100 units. CF : Where is all your manufacturing being done? KX: Right now, it is being done in Suzhou. The composite material is being done in Jining, Shandong province. Our final assembly will take place in Suzhou, and our pilot and avionics team will be in Shanghai. CF : For many developers, it seems easier to certify a cargo version when compared to a passenger variant. KX: It’s easier because the safety level is different. For example, if we start from scratch certifying a passenger drone, it normally takes five to six years, but if you certify a cargo version first, it only takes about two years. And then you have already accumulated some experience [for a passenger variant], even though it’s not 100% the same. For the airframe and most of the parts, you can follow the test results. CF : In China, what do you think is the overall appetite and the certification climate for cargo drones and eVTOLs? KX: I think the overall appetite is quite large. Many companies like SF Express are using small cargo drones, but they don’t have bigger drones, so we are in discussions with some of those companies for the bigger cargo payloads. The CAAC is really encouraging because most of the cargo will run in unpopulated areas, between outskirts of cities, remote mountainous regions, islands or areas that do not have quality road infrastructure in place. So the CAAC encourages the use of unmanned aerial systems to resolve the cargo issues in these areas because they are a good complement. As for the end users, they just want their products faster and more cheaply — they don’t care how you get the goods there. Cargo Facts EMEA 2024, the essential event for stakeholders in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will take place Feb. 5-7 in Amsterdam. Register today to take advantage of early-bird pricing .

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