WeFly (Qifei Aviation Technology) WF-02 (concept design)
WF-02 (concept design)
WeFly (Qifei Aviation Technology)
Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
(no website)
The information provided here is as accurate as possible; however, eVTOL information from China is sometimes sparse, incomplete or conflicting. China is promoting what they call the "low-altitude economy" — a new push for general aviation — which includes both crewed and uncrewed passenger and air cargo eVTOL aircraft.
Founded in January 2022 in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China, WeFly is a Chinese eVTOL startup and is in the design and production of very quiet on-demand long-range passenger and air cargo electric vertical takeoff and landing eVTOL passenger aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM). The company expects the operating costs of their aircraft will be low. According to some websites, WeFly is a division of the Qifei Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. located in Suzhou, China.
WeFly announced on April 28, 2022, that it had closed tens of millions of US dollars in angel funding from INCE Capital and Linear Capital which will be used primarily to build their engineering team, for product design and development of their prototype aircraft. Canglan Capital served as the exclusive financial adviser. In 2024, at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (November 12–17, 2024) in Zhuhai, China, WeFly announced they secured a ¥10B (USD $1.4B) agreement with Ruohang Industrial Group for 500 of these aircraft.
WF-02 passenger eVTOL concept design aircraft
Very little specific details have been revealed by the company about the type of aircraft they will be designing. However, in Vertiflite January/February 2025, China eVTOL Aircraft Round-Up, Part 2, article by Jennifer Meszaros, WeFly had revealed the name of their flagship passenger eVTOL aircraft to be WF-02. In addition, the aircraft will hold a total of five people.
The company has stated their aircraft will be 100% powered by batteries and the operating costs of the aircraft will be low. The company has emphasized their aircraft will be a long range eVTOL aircraft making on-demand city to city air service available to the public. The company expects to use currently available off-the-shelf technology to build their aircraft and they will not be creating in-house technology for their aircraft. WeFly plans to make their aircraft so they are tailored to customer needs.
The company foresees its aircraft to be used in multiple aerial applications such as on-demand air tax service, air tourism, emergency medical transportation, disaster response, humanitarian aid, police, fire, government use, air cargo and more. The company expects their aircraft to land and takeoff from the tops of buildings and in parking lots, eliminating most of the need for having to use airports. Once production aircraft are coming off the assembly line, the company stated their operation will pay for itself in about a year.
Update:
The company announced they plans to begin serial production of the WF-02 aircraft later in 2025. Meanwhile, no pictures of the WF-02 aircraft have been revealed online as of March 2025.
Specifications:
- Aircraft type: Long range passenger and air cargo eVTOL concept design aircraft
- Piloting: 1 pilot (possibly), remote or autonomous. If the aircraft is remotely controlled or has autonomous piloting, the aircraft will be able to carry a maximum of 5 passengers.
- Capacity: 4 people passengers and their luggage
- Cruise speed: Unknown
- Range: Long-range eVTOL aircraft (the actual range is unknown)
- Empty weight: 1,814 kg (4,400 lb)
- Propellers: Unknown
- Electric motors: Unknown
- Power source: Battery packs
- Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
- Wing: 1 or more wings
- Windows: Most likely larger than conventional aircraft windows
- Landing gear: Unknown
- Safety features: Most likely: 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:
- WeFly WF-01 (subscale prototype)
- WeFly WF-02 (technology demonstrator)
Company Insights:
Resources:
- WeFly website (unknown)
- Article: eVTOL Startup WEFLY Secures Tens of Millions of Dollars in Angel Investment, Pan Daily, May 5, 2022
- Article: eVTOL Maker WEFLY Secures Tens of Mns of USD in Angel Round, Equal Ocean, May 6, 2022
- Article: Chinese eVTOL startup WEFLY secures tens of millions of dollars in angel round funding, CNEV Post, May 9, 2022
- Article: China eVTOL Aircraft Round-Up, Part 2, Vertiflite, January/February 2025
- Article: Chinese eVTOL Aircraft Directory, Part 1, Vertiflite, May/June 2025
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