Flying vehicles

XPeng AeroHT eVTOL Flying Car Concept 2024

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.

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.

XPeng AeroHT has developed what they have named the "eVTOL Flying Car" which is a two passenger ground and air concept design. The vehicle is piloted and might have the option of remote or autonomous piloting. The eVTOL Flying Car is the latest design of several generations of their concept design flying cars. The company has also made a full size concept model for trade show displays. This latest version of their electric flying car looks just like a car and the multicopter housing assembly is completely concealed inside the car.

While most specifications have not been published as of January 2024, the vehicle has eight propellers located on booms. The booms will extend from the multicopter housing assembly when the passengers change the car from driving mode to flight mode. The propellers are stacked, two at a time, at the ends of each of the booms. There are eight electric motors powered by Lithium-ion battery packs (or whatever the best battery technology will be available in the future, such as solid state batteries).

The front windshield is similar to a car but the doors are completely clear to provide excellent views for the pilot and passenger when flying. The car has a very modern design, the company calls their car design a super car, created to accommodate both the passengers, the multicopter propeller assembly and the tires for ground travel. The fuselage's empty weight is 1,000 kg (2,205 lb), providing a high strength to low weight ratio. The ground tires also double as the landing gear.

To fly, the car comes to a stop and from the top rear of the car, a centered rectangular multicopter assembly lifts vertically and then moves slightly forward. Once the multicopter assembly is locked in the up position, four booms at the corners of the rectangle pivot outward. The front two booms are angled forward slightly and the rear two booms are perpendicular to the multicopter housing assembly. The custom multicopter assembly housing has a roof with two vertical large posts at each end of the rectangular assembly. The multicopter assembly is completely automatic. In the cockpit, the steering wheel is telescoped into the dashboard and a joystick is located on the pilot's right side of the seat. The vehicle uses an intelligent cockpit. There is a glass cockpit for the pilot and passenger.

The multicopter assembly has been designed specifically to protect the propellers when in driving mode. The flying car has cameras instead of actual mirrors and the wheels are covered with aerodynamic tire covers. There are no visible door handles. These exterior features were made to reduce drag while flying or driving.

To enhance flying car safety, XPeng AeroHT has developed an emergency multi-parachute ballistic rescue system. The parachute system was successfully tested at just 50 meters altitude in October 2023 and allows ultra-low altitude rescues. The system’s maximum capacity is 1 ton and includes pioneering features like ultra-low altitude parachute opening and an embedded safety rescue control panel. It breaks industry standards by deploying parachutes at 50 meters (164 feet) instead of the usual 200+ meters (656+ feet), ensuring a safer touchdown at approximately 5 meters per second (16 feet per second), protecting passengers and the aircraft.

The company unveiled a full size eVTOL Flying Car concept model during the 1024 Tech Day, that took place on October 24, 2023. It is unknown if the concept model actually flies or not. 1024 is equal to 2 to the 10th power, one of the basic units of measurement for binary counting. The company has also revealed that price of the car in late 2023 is estimated at ¥1,000,000.00 CNY ($137,000.00 USD).

https://evtol.news/xpeng-aeroht-evtol-flying-car-concept-design