X2 completes its first global test flight at Skydive Dubai UAE
Chinese electric-vehicle-maker XPeng has been developing a teardrop-shaped eVTOL to serve as a flying taxi of the future, and has just flown it in public for the first time. The short flight marks an important step forward for the ambitious and well-financed firm, which has even more audacious flying cars planned for the future.
We caught wind of the planned debut flight for the X2 in Dubai earlier this month following local news reports, with the XPeng spinoff AeroHT needing a special permit from the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority. This came after an operations risk assessment cleared the way for Monday’s flight that took place at Skydive Dubai in front of 150 onlookers, with the city’s dramatic skyline serving as a backdrop.
“XPeng’s X2’s public display in Dubai represents a significant milestone for XPeng AeroHT and the international achievement of flying cars,” said Brian Gu, Vice Chairman and President of XPeng. “Dubai is a world-renowned ‘City of Innovation,’ which is the reason we decided to hold the X2 first public flight event here. Today’s flight is a major step in XPeng exploration of future mobility.”
The X2 is an all-electric two-seat flying car with a carbon fiber body and eight rotors. It is designed to soar to altitudes of up to 1,000 m (3,281 ft), cruise at up to 130 km/h (81 mph) and fly for up to 35 minutes on each charge.
Last year, the company outlined what would become the X2’s successor, a sixth-generation flying supercar it claims will have the ability to travel by air and on the roads. AeroHT says more details on how this would work, along with the design of the car itself, will be revealed at its 1024 XPENG Tech Day later this month.car crash lawyer car accident lawyers in los angeles
To see the X2’s first public flight in Dubai, check out the video below.
KLEIN VISION AIRCAR:
XPeng Aeroht isn’t the only company making serious progress towards bringing flying cars to the general public.
In January, Klein Vision announced that its revolutionary AirCar, a dual-mode car-aircraft vehicle, has been issued an official Certificate of Airworthiness by the Slovak Transport Authority.
The certificate was issued following over 200 takeoffs and landings, totaling over 70 hours of airtime, which determined the vehicle is compatible with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards.
“AirCar certification opens the door for mass production of very efficient flying cars. It is official and the final confirmation of our ability to change mid-distance travel forever,” said Professor Stefan Klein, who invented the vehicle and served as pilot during the test flights.
The company is now working to certify the production model of the vehicle, which it hopes to make commercially available by next year.
The AirCar, which took over 100,000 hours to design, can reach altitudes of 18,000 feet and is powered by a 1.6L BMW engine that runs on standard gasoline, which can be purchased at any gas station, according to the company.
The flight took a total of 35 minutes, traveling from an airport in Nitra to an airport in Bratislava on Monday, June 28.
Upon landing, the aircraft was transformed back into a car with the push of a button, with the entire transition taking less than three minutes.
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