MuYu Sky AT8000 (prototype)

(Photo credit: MuYu Sky)

AT8000 (prototype)
MuYu Sky
Shanghai, China
www.muyusky.com

Please remember, it is known that information originating from China is sometimes sparse, incomplete or inaccurate. The information we provide here is either from company news reports or online articles. We do know that China is promoting what they call the "low-altitude economy" (in the US, it's known as advanced air mobility or AAM). China's low-altitude economy includes both crewed and uncrewed passenger and air cargo electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) and hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft.

Founded in 2018, MuYu Sky is in the business of designing and manufacturing air cargo and passenger hydrogen-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and conventionally powered aircraft. The company is based in Shanghai, China. The company's website shows the business dates back to 2014 when we it might have been called the Muyu Aero Technology Company, in addition to the company possibly being called EFC.

The company has announced they are focusing on hydrogen fuel cell powered eVTOL aircraft using batteries for takeoff and landing, using fuel cells for cruising and mid-flight battery recharging. This power system improves the range of the aircraft, a higher payload, higher reliability of the aircraft and lower operational costs. The company's plans to begin production of its air cargo eVTOL aircraft first and then transition to passenger eVTOL aircraft.

AT8000 long-range heavy-lift air cargo hydrogen fuel cell VTOL prototype aircraft
The AT8000 is a long-range heavy-lift air cargo hydrogen fuel cell VTOL prototype aircraft. There are at least two pictures of the prototype for this aircraft on the company's website each having a different amount of propellers. For this web page, we are listing the number of propellers we see on the prototype in flight. We are not sure if the prototype is a subscale or full-scale prototype.

The flying prototype has eight tilt-propellers, 16 VTOL-only propellers and uses 24 electric motors. We are not sure if the prototypes use only batteries or is using batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. We know that the prototype aircraft will use both batteries and hydrogen fuel cells for its power source. The cargo drone has one front canard wing, one high main wing and has one dual tail configuration. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite to give the aircraft a high strength to low weight ratio. For landing gear, the aircraft has eight fixed short legs.

Future plans:
The company expects the drone to be used for air cargo logistics. The company intends to have airworthiness certificates for the air cargo eVTOL aircraft in 2027 or 2028.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Long-range heavy-lift air cargo hydrogen fuel cell VTOL prototype aircraft
• Piloting: Remote, autopilot or autonomous or a combination of these technologies
• Capacity: Air cargo
• Cruise speed (production aircraft): Unknown
• Range (production aircraft): 1,000 km (621 m)
• Maximum takeoff weight (production aircraft): 4,000 kg (8,819 lb)
• Propellers: 24 propellers (8 tilt-propellers for forward flight, 16 VTOL-only propellers.
• Electric motors: 24 electric motors
• Power source: For the prototype, it uses battery packs only or both battery packs and hydrogen fuel cells. The production model is planned to be powered by battery packs and hydrogen fuel cells.
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Wing: 1 canard, 1 main high wing
• Tail: 1 dual tail
• Landing gear: 8 fixed short struts (or stub legs)
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) uses multiple propellers or electric ducted fans, each powered by electric motors, to increase safety through redundancy. If one or more components fail, the remaining ones can still ensure a safe landing. There are also redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy. Having multiple redundant systems on any aircraft decreases having any single point of failure. The aircraft has no moving surfaces or tilting parts when transitioning from vertical to forward flight and the reverse which increases safety by reducing complexity.

Related Aircraft:

• MuYu Sky AT1300 (prototype)
• MuYu Sky EV4 (prototype)
• MuYu Sky VJET-7 (concept design)

Resources:

• MuYu Sky website
• Article: China's Rising eVTOL Industry, Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2021
• Article: MuYu’s Logistics First eVTOL Strategy – Cargo to Passenger!, Asian Sky Group, Sept. 14, 2022
• Article: Muyu Sky soars ahead with heavy-lift hybrid eVTOL drones, KrAsia, Feb. 23, 2025