China’s 10-Passenger eVTOL Prototype Completes Demo Flight

Overview

• The Associated Press witnessed AutoFlight’s Matrix perform a low-altitude flight in Kunshan lasting about 10 minutes, flying laps and landing smoothly with noise lower than a helicopter.
• Matrix is a roughly 5‑ton electric aircraft designed to carry up to 10 passengers, measuring 17.1 meters in length with a 20‑meter wingspan and about one hour of endurance.
• AutoFlight says it expects a type certificate from regulators next year, though an operator certificate would still be required before carrying paying passengers.
• The aircraft remains a prototype, and AutoFlight also has a smaller two-passenger model that is still awaiting necessary approvals.
• EHang has regulatory clearance to offer commercial passenger transport in China, yet services have not begun as analysts cite safety validation, vertiport buildout and route logistics that could take at least three more years to mature.