Zero Gravity ZG-ONE (concept design)

ZG-ONE (concept design)
Zero Gravity Aircraft Industry Co., LTD.
Hefei High-Tech Zone, Anhui, China
www.lzlair.com

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.

The company was founded on March 31, 2021 by Xiang Jinwu, the Dean of the School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering in Beihang University to make electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) passenger aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM). The School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering is a leading academic at the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Zero Gravity (also known as ZeroG) is based in China’s Hefei High-Tech Zone in Anhui, China. The company announced in May 2022, it had secured almost 10 million yuan ($1.48 million - USD) in a round of seed funding from BlueRun Ventures, based in China. (Image credit: Zero Gravity)

The company has already designed an eVTOL multicopter, eVTOL winged aircraft and tilt-wing eVTOL passenger aircraft. The company's main objectives is to provide clean, safe, fast and comfortable urban air travel. The founding team member of Zero Gravity has said, "With an initial specialization in eVTOLs, we aim to provide smarter, faster, safer and more cost-effective solutions in urban air mobility (UAM). Our goal is to bring electric aircraft to life and contribute to the air taxi industry in China and to the world."

ZG-ONE eVTOL two person air taxi concept design multicopter aircraft
ZG-ONE is Zero Gravity's first generation eVTOL two person air taxi concept design multicopter aircraft that has one pilot and one passenger. In the future, the aircraft will have autonomous piloting. The aircraft is globe-shaped and has excellent left, right and forward views for the pilot and passenger. The globe-shaped fuselage was designed to capture the imagination and attention of the commuter public to try to make the aircraft fun to ride and enticing to fly. There are two doors on the multicopter making it easy to enter and exit the aircraft.

The aircraft which has a six propellers and six electric motors mounted on a circular web-like electric motor strut assembly located on top of the passenger compartment. The cruise speed of the multicopter is predicted to be 250 km/h (155 mph) and have an estimated range of 300 km (186 m). The foreseen flight time will be 90 minutes. The maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft is expected to be 650 kg (1,433 lb).

The aircraft is very small and can land almost anywhere in a parking lot, rooftop or grassy area. The aircraft has fixed-skid landing gear, increasing the simplicity and reliability of the aircraft and reducing manufacturing cost, maintenance cost and weight of the aircraft. The fixed-skid landing gear also allow the aircraft to land on almost any surface.

The aircraft will be initially used in low altitude, short distance flights for travel to work and as a logistics aircraft. The aircraft has three-redundant flight control systems to make the aircraft extremely safe and reliable. In case all systems fail, the aircraft also has an emergency ballistic parachute to keep the passengers safe during an emergency landing.

Aircraft applications and future plans
The company foresees its aircraft for daily air taxi commuting for work, tourism, emergency rescue, geological surveys, air cargo and many other types of air missions needed by a small eVTOL aircraft. The company has ambitious plans to start small patch production in 2022. The company has stated they already have obtained several purchase orders for the aircraft.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: eVTOL passenger and air cargo concept design aircraft
• Piloting: 1 pilot (in the future, it will be autonomous)
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Cruise speed: 75 km/h (46 mph)
• Range: 30 km (18 miles)
• Maximum takeoff weight: 650 kg (1,433 lb)
• Propellers: 6 propellers
• Electric Motors: 6 electric motors
• Power source: Batteries
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Cabin: Globe-type enclosed cabin
• Windows: Panoramic wrap around windows allowing forward, left and right visibility, for spectacular views.
• 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 (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. In case all systems fail, the aircraft also has an emergency ballistic parachute to keep the passengers safe during an emergency landing.

Related Aircraft:

• Zero Gravity ZG-1 (prototype) 
• Zero Gravity ZG-ONE (production model)
• Zero Gravity ZG-T6 (concept design)
• Zero Gravity ZG-VC2 (concept design)

Company Insights:

• Crunchbase
• Pitchbook

Resources:

• Zero Gravity website
• Article: The first generation of zero gravity eVTOL product "ZG-ONE" was launched, Weixin QQ, May 15, 2022
• Article: eVTOL Firm Zerog Secures Nearly 10M Yuan in Seed Financing, Pandaily, May 17, 2022
• Article: BRV China-backed eVTOL start-up Zerog closes nearly RMB10 Million seed round, Fifty Shades of Sky, June 7, 2022
• Article: BRV China-backed eVTOL start-up Zerog closes nearly RMB 10 million seed round, China Travel News, June 8, 2022
• Article: ZG-ONE eVTOL By ZeroG, Jet Forums, (Date of post unknown.)
• Article: The eVTOL company "Zero Gravity Aircraft Industry" completed nearly 10 million yuan in seed round financing, and Lanchi Ventures exclusively invested, Sina Finance, May 17, 2022
• Article: Lanchi Venture Capital made an exclusive investment, and eVTOL zero-gravity aircraft, China Venture, May 17, 2022
• Article: Chuang Express | Nanjing Zero Gravity completed nearly 10 million yuan in seed round financing, Sohu, May 19, 2022
• Article: BRV China-backed eVTOL start-up Zerog closes nearly RMB10 Million seed round, Fifty Sky Shades, June 7, 2022
• Article: Another Chinese eVTOL Startup Adds Funding, Aviation Week, Aug. 28, 2023