[Explanation] A few days ago, the second test flight of a manned aircraft (flying car) independently developed by Geely Wofei Changkong Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. was successfully completed, marking that Geely's flying car AE200 X01 series flight test verification work has entered a new stage.
As an important part of future urban three-dimensional transportation, flying cars have attracted widespread attention from all walks of life.
Recently, when the reporter visited Wofei Changkong's R&D center in Chengdu, he saw that the 1/4 scale model of AE200 was placed in the center of the company's exhibition hall.
Although it is called a flying car, the AE200 does not gallop on the road like a traditional car, and its appearance is quite different from traditional cars: its "body" is somewhat similar to a helicopter, and "wings" similar to civil aviation airliners are added to the "body" , There are also 2 rows of 8 small "propellers" on the "wings".
Fei Lan, marketing director of Wofei Changkong, said that one of the highlights of this aircraft is the ingenious combination of rotor and fixed wing.
[Concurrent] Fei Lan, Marketing Director of Geely Wofei Changkong Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd.
In fact, it also combines the strengths of two points. The rotor is for it to be able to take off and land vertically on the roof of an ordinary building. The addition of fixed wings is its main function to enhance its range.
If we use such a configuration of pure rotors to make flying cars, its mileage may be 30 to 50 kilometers.
We added a fixed-wing configuration, which extended the range from 30 to 50 kilometers to 200 to 300 kilometers.
[Explanation] It is understood that the AE200 is currently the largest low-altitude travel aircraft in the country, with a wingspan of 14.5 meters, a height and a length of 3.5 meters and 9.5 meters respectively, and the cockpit can carry 4 passengers and 1 driver.
The fuselage is made of composite materials, and the power source is a lithium battery.
With wing assistance, the aircraft can fly 200-300 kilometers at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour at a low altitude of 300 meters to 1,000 meters, and can be used for intercity travel within urban agglomerations.
[Concurrent] Fei Lan, Marketing Director of Geely Wofei Changkong Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd.
From the overall configuration of the aircraft and including the power flight control, this area is world-leading and domestically first-class. Our flight test has just begun, so in the follow-up development process, we will definitely face high-frequency operation. During the process, the flight control system, including some connection systems with traditional ground vehicles, is still unknown, and it is also a point that we need to tackle in the future.
[Explanation] Fei Lan said that the future function of flying cars is mainly to alleviate urban traffic congestion and provide people with intelligent and convenient travel methods. The target areas are mainly Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao, Chengdu-Chongqing and other urban agglomerations.
[Concurrent] Fei Lan, Marketing Director of Geely Wofei Changkong Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd.
The flying car is a 3D three-dimensional transportation part of the air vehicle developed based on ground transportation. The first one is that it must take off and land vertically, so it is convenient for us to use it in the city without going through large-scale infrastructure construction. on the means of transport.
Then the second point is hoped to be new energy, which is in line with the evolution trend of all subsequent vehicles.
The third is that as the number of flying cars increases, the control between different flying cars, including airspace management, needs to be controlled by intelligent clusters.
[Explanation] The reporter learned that although the research and development and flight test work related to flying cars continue to speed up, there is still a long way to go before "flying into the homes of ordinary people".
On the one hand, the commercialization of flying cars means a huge investment in the early stage, and another challenge is flight safety.
[Concurrent] Fei Lan, Marketing Director of Geely Wofei Changkong Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd.
After the aircraft completes the research and development design, it has to go through a very critical step, which we call airworthiness certification.
Airworthiness certification is a very important evidence to ensure the safety and reliability of an aircraft.
Although our aircraft is shorter than ordinary civil aviation airliners in terms of size and scale, it is a brand-new type of aircraft after all, so the current civil aviation certification agencies and civil aviation management agencies around the world are working together to deal with it. This type of flying car-type aircraft is to explore airworthiness laws and regulations. We will obtain airworthiness certification within 3 to 5 years, and then carry out test flights in specific areas.
Reporter Lu Yang reports from Chengdu
Editor in charge: [Ji Xiang]