HT Aero Accelerates Development of Carbon‑Fiber Electric Urban Aircraft

Photo Credit: HT Aero

HT Aero (Guangzhou, China), an urban air mobility (UAM) company in which XPeng Inc. (Guangzhou, China) is an investor, unveiled future urban usage scenarios for its fifth-generation composite flying vehicle XPeng X2 (X2), including autonomous flight takeoff and landing for specific city scenarios, back-end scheduling, charging and flight control.

According to HT Aero, the XPeng X2 has conducted more than 15,000 safe, manned flights. X2 is an electric two-seater enclosed-cockpit flying vehicle which is said to have a significantly improved load, passenger number, exterior design and flight control system than the previous generation.

X2 adopts a closed cockpit for the first time, and, according to HT Aero, it presents a minimalist profile that takes into account high-efficiency aerodynamics to optimize flight performance. With a full carbon fiber structure, X2 reportedly weighs 560 kilograms (empty aircraft with battery) and has the maximum takeoff weight of 760 kilograms with a capacity of two passengers. It can cruise at a maximum design speed of 130 kilometers per hour and has a range of 35 minutes at a designed flying height of under 1,000 meters, suitable for low-altitude urban flight scenarios.

Powered purely by electricity, X2 reportedly has no carbon dioxide emissions during flight, in line with the company’s goal of green urban transportation. HT Aero says that X2 can serve in scenarios such as air patrol, field rescue and medical transportation.