Aerofugia Technology Co. Ltd. (Geely) Air Car (concept design)

Air Car (concept design)
Aerofugia Technology Co. Ltd. (Geely)
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
www.aerofugia.com

Founded in September 2020, Aerofugia Technology Company Limited (based in China) is in the business of designing and manufacturing low-altitude UAVs and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) passenger aircraft. The company is a subsidiary of Geely Technology Group and in 2021, Aerofugia formed a joint venture with Volocopter.

Air Car eVTOL concept design aircraft and roadable vehicle
Aerofugia filed a patent application in July 2022 for their low altitude Air Car eVTOL one pilot, four passenger aircraft. The aircraft is also a roadable vehicle. The canard/propeller wing assembly attaches and detaches to the fuselage allowing the passengers to either fly or drive the vehicle. The cabin is spacious and has larger than conventional general aviation windows for excellent views for the passengers. The aircraft can also be customized for air cargo service.

The aircraft uses a high canard wing with two booms and has a total of seven propellers for propulsion. The Air Car has one pusher propeller and six dedicated VTOL propellers, the VTOL propellers are located on the top of the two booms. All VTOL propellers are above the booms keeping passengers, aircraft crew and ground crew safe when the aircraft is on the ground. The aircraft has two rear inverted vertical stabilizers.

The Air Car's fuselage has four automobile tires that the aircraft uses to land on and for also ground travel. The passengers want to drive on the road, the canard wing assembly is lifted up slightly and has two front vertical struts and two wheels under the inverted vertical stabilizers to keep the hold the wing assembly while landed. After the wing assembly is lifted, the entire fuselage can be driven on the road.

The company says that it has made key breakthroughs in its work with dynamically tilting the aircraft’s rotors, having completed the verification process with its scaled-down prototype, offers new energy solutions and smart swarm flight controlling. Aerofugia plans to provide fast air travel services between cities with four to five times greater time and cost efficiency. The Aerofugia's passenger aircraft can meet the demand of zero-emissions, low noise and high-frequency commercial operations within and between close cities.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Passenger and air cargo eVTOL concept design aircraft and roadable vehicle
• Piloting: 1 pilot
• Capacity: 4 passengers
• Propellers: 7 propellers (6  dedicated VTOL propellers, 1 pusher propeller)
• Electric motors: 7 electric motors
• Power source: Batteries
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Windows: Larger windows than conventional general aviation plane windows allowing forward, left and right visibility for spectacular views with a solid roof above the passenger compartment
• Wings: High canard wings (the rear wing is the largest wing)
• Tail: 2 inverted vertical stabilizers
• Landing gear for canard wing/propeller assembly: 2 vertical struts in front, 2 wheels under the inverted vertical stabilizers
• Landing gear for fuselage: 4 automobile wheels, used for landing and for driving on the road
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers (or ducted fans) and motors on the aircraft so if one or more propellers (ducted fans) or motors fail, the other working propellers (or ducted fans) and motors can safely land the aircraft. There are also redundancies in the sub-systems of the aircraft.

Related Aircraft:

• Aerofugia Technology Co. Ltd. AE200 X01 (technology demonstrator)
• Aerofugia Technology Co. Ltd. TF-2 (technology demonstrator)
• Aerofugia Technology Co. Ltd. Transporter (concept design)

Company Insights:

• China Edge
• Pitchbook
• Tracxn

Resources:

• Aerofugia Technology Co. Ltd. website
• Aerofugia Technology Co. Ltd. bilibili
• Aerofugia Technology Co. Ltd. TikTok
• Aerofugia Technology Co. Ltd. Weibo
• Article: Volocopter announces joint venture with Geely subsidiary Aerofugia, Electrive.com, Sept. 22, 2021
• Article: China’s Rising eVTOL Industry, Electric VTOL News, Nov/Dec 2021
• Article: Geely’s Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft Patent was Granted, Global Sky Media, Aug. 6, 2022
• Article: Geely Aerofugia Unveils Self-developed Flying Car, Global Sky Media, Aug. 29, 2022
• Article: AEROFUGIA: GEELY’s Move From Electric Cars To Electric Flying Cars, Global Sky Media, Sept. 14, 2022