XPeng AeroHT Air F1 (defunct)

Air F1 (defunct)
XPeng AeroHT
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
www.aeroht.com

With funding from XPeng Motors, XPeng AeroHT was founded in 2020 as one of its subdivisions and is located in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. XPeng AeroHT is in the business of designing and manufacturing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) passenger aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM). The company was originally founded as Heitech in 2013 by Zhao Deli in Dongguan, Guangdong, China and was later purchased by XPeng Motors. He Xiaopeng is the Chairman and CEO of XPeng Motors and the Chairman of XPeng AeroHT. Zhao Deli is currently the president of XPeng AeroHT, Wang Tan is the co-founder, vice president and chief designer of XPeng AeroHT and Zheng Congwei is the vice president of XPeng AeroHT. (Image credit: XPeng AeroHT)

XPeng Motors was founded in 2014 by He Xiaopeng, Henry Xia and He Tao and is a leading Chinese all-electric vehicle and technology company that designs, develops and manufactures intelligent automobiles that are seamlessly integrated with the Internet and utilize the latest advances in artificial intelligence. The company's headquarters are located in Guangzhou, China.

The company's manufacturing philosophy centers around quality, continuous improvement, flexibility and high operating efficiency. XPeng's goal is to make smart electric vehicles with technology and data, and shape the consumer mobility experience of the future. XPeng went public in the U.S. in August 2020 and has completed a dual-primary listing in Hong Kong.

When Zhao Deli was very young, he always liked electronics, science and had the dream to fly. In 2008, Zhao by chance, saw a group of people flying remote-controlled model aircraft which sparked his interest in flying again. He began to work on, study and learn to make model aircraft, including drones and helicopters and learned how to make them fly.

After making electric drones for several years (including a hybrid-electric drone), Deli started his own company in 2010 to sell drones. The company created five different drone models to manufacture and sell. Then around 2016, Deli read about a hover surfboard from Canada, this information was the catalyst to for him to begin building an eVTOL hoverbike for one passenger.

He started out funding himself with his own money, by selling his home and borrowing money from friends. He then attracted investors to keep his research going. After his drone company went bankrupt, Deli attracted an investment of $2.8 million (USD), all from Chinese venture capitalists and XPeng AeroHT was formed. Before XPeng AeroHT was formed, Deli's two previous and now defunct eVTOL companies were named GroundAero and Heitech Aeronautics & Astronautics.

Air F1 eVTOL multicopter hoverbike prototype
The Air F1 is a two passenger eVTOL hoverbike prototype and has been designed for a maximum altitude of 100 meters (328 feet). The multicopter hoverbike has an open cockpit with a small windshield in the front of the aircraft. The two passenger eVTOL multicopter was filmed and reported on several times on news websites in May and June of 2020. Zhoa says the two passenger eVTOL aircraft could change police aviation and rescue operations for the better, in Dongguan, in the south of China.

The hoverbike has eight propellers, eight electric motors and is powered by Lithium-ion batteries. The propellers are double stacked and are located on the ends of four booms. Each boom is located on the corners of the rectangular fuselage and each boom is at a 45 degree angle. The aircraft is powered by Lithium-ion battery packs. The fuselage has a roll bar in the rear of the fuselage for added safety. The aircraft has fixed skid landing gear.

Deli continued to create multiple eVTOL passenger concept designs and we have only have several cataloged, the XPeng AeroHT Skimmer, the XPeng AeroHT Cruiser and XPeng AeroHT Sport. 

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: eVTOL passenger multicopter (prototype)
• Piloting: 2 passengers
• Maximum altitude: 100 meters (328 feet)
• Propellers: 8 propellers
• Electric Motors: 8 electric motors
• Power source: Lithium-ion batteries
• Cockpit: Open cockpit
• Fuselage: Light weight material and a role bar
• Landing gear: Fixed skid landing gear
• Safety Features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers and motors on the aircraft so if one or more motors or propellers fail, the other working motors and propellers can safely land the aircraft.

Related Aircraft:

• GroundAero Sport Utility Aircraft (defunct)
• XPeng AeroHT Cruiser (concept design)
• XPeng AeroHT eVTOL Flying Car (concept design)
• XPeng AeroHT Flying Car (concept design)
• XPeng AeroHT Magic Cloud (defunct)
• XPeng AeroHT Modular Flying Car (concept design)
• XPeng AeroHT Skimmer (concept design)
• XPeng AeroHT Snow Flyer (concept design)
• XPeng AeroHT Sport (concept design)
• XPeng AeroHT T1 (production model)
• XPeng AeroHT Tilt-Wing (technology demonstrator)
• XPeng AeroHT Voyager X1 (production model)
• XPeng AeroHT Voyager X2 (production model)
• XPeng AeroHT X3 (concept design)
• XPeng AeroHT X3 (technology demonstrator)

Company Insights:

• CBInsights
• Crunchbase
• Pitchbook
• Tracxn

Resources:

• XPeng AeroHT website
• XPeng AeroHT Facebook
• XPeng AeroHT Twitter
• XPeng AeroHT YouTube
• XPeng AeroHT TikTok
• XPeng AeroHT Pinterest
• XPeng AeroHT Instagram
• XPeng AeroHT LinkedIn
• XPeng Motors website
• XPeng Motors Facebook
• XPeng Motors Twitter
• XPeng Motors YouTube Channel
• XPeng Motors LinkedIn
• Article: Chinese man sells his house to fund flying motorcycle, Global Times, July 25, 2018
• Article: Chinese Inventor Develops Working Drone Motorcycle, The Drive, July 28, 2018
• Article: Chinese Inventor Plans To Take His “Hoverbike” On A 3,400 Mi Journey, Mike Shouts, July 30, 2018
• Article: Zhao Deli's two-seater multirotor, Helicomicro, Apr. 29, 2020 
• Video: Octocopter aims to change city aviation, Play Stuff, Date Unknown: Possibly May or June 2020
• Article: Chinese two-seat octocopter aims to change city aviation, PressTV, June 10, 2020 
• Article: Is This Chinese Manned Flying Machine The World’s First Air Motorcycle?, Inside EVs, June 18, 2020
• Video: China's kiwigogo! Two seat version flying motorcycle Air F1, carrying two persons 100 meters, Alvin Tang, May 10, 2020
• Article: China's Rising eVTOL Industry, Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2021