Autoflight BAT600 (defunct)

BAT600 (defunct)
Autoflight
Shanghai, China
www.autoflight.com

Autoflight was founded in February of 2018 by Yu Tian, creator of Chinese drone company Yuneec International. The company's Global Headquarter is in Shanghai, China. The company is in the business of designing and manufacturing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) passenger aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM). The company also designs and manufacturers heavy-lift eVTOL air cargo drones. The company also manufacturers hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft. Originally, the company's European location was named AutoFlightX but that named is no longer used and the current global company name is Autoflight. The company has locations in Los Angeles, California, USA and in Munich, Germany.

The BAT600 (now defunct) was designed by Yuneec in 2017 and was expected to offer this two passenger eVTOL to its customers (or customers could purchase the aircraft with a hybrid-electric VTOL power source) in several years of the initial design. The company had hoped to have a flying prototype by the end of 2018 but the project was cancelled.

The aircraft was expected to have a flight time of two hours for the all-electric model. The hybrid-electric flight time was expected to be five hours. The aircraft has two forward and two rear stacked propellers on each boom on the aircraft, making a grand total of eight VTOL propellers. There is one pusher propeller for forward flight. The aircraft has one low main wing and has an inverted U tail boom. The aircraft has fixed tricycle wheeled landing gear.

On July 17, 2018, it was announced that the company would join Volocopter, Lilium, and Quantum Systems at the new Oberpfaffenhofen eVTOL test facility.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: eVTOL or hybrid-electric VTOL passenger aircraft (now defunct)
• Piloting: 1 pilot
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Flight time: 2 hours (all-electric), 5 hours (hybrid-electric)
• Maximum takeoff weight: 600 kg (1,322 lb)
• Propellers: 9 propellers (8 VTOL only propellers, 1 pusher propeller)
• Electric motors: 9 electric motors
• Power source: All electric or hybrid-electric power source
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Window: Canopy over cockpit
• Wings: 1 main low wing
• Tail: Inverted U tail
• Landing gear: Fixed tricycle wheeled landing gear
• 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 of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft. If there is a complete power failure, the aircraft can land conventionally at an airport or on a road.

Related Aircraft:

• Autoflight F240 Hot Wheels
• Autoflight Prosperity I
• Autoflight V400 Albatross
• Autoflight V600 (prototype)
• Autoflight V880CG (prototype)
• Autoflight V1000
• Autoflight V1200 (concept design)

Company Insights:

• Pitchbook
• Crunchbase
• Tracxn

Resources:

• Autoflight website
• Autoflight YouTube Channel
• Autoflight Instagram
• Autoflight LinkedIn
• Vertiflite Article: German Ultralight VTOL Innovations, Ian Frain, Sept/Oct 2016
• Article: Per Flugtaxi an die Weltspitze, OVB Online, July 17, 2018
• Article: AutoFlightX Breaks Cover, Electric VTOL News, Apr. 18, 2019
• Article: Oshkosh e-AirVenture, Vertiflite, Sept/Oct 2019
• Article: AutoFlightX Prepares for Takeoff, Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2019