'Airtaxi' concept closer to reality as eVTOL aircraft completes test flight across Yangtze River

China

'Airtaxi' concept closer to reality as eVTOL aircraft completes test flight across Yangtze River

2024-08-02 17:32 Last Updated At：22:57

The seemingly futuristic concept of "airtaxis" transporting people across cities came closer to reality on Thursday when an unmanned electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft successfully completed a flight across a stretch of the Yangtze River in east China's Nanjing.

The 25-kilometer test flight lasted around 10 minutes and marked the first time an eVTOL aircraft heavier than one ton has flown across the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway.

The sleek-looking eVTOL aircraft boasts a wingspan of 15 meters, a fuselage length of 11 meters, and a height of around 3.5 meters. Capable of accommodating up to five passengers, it has a maximum carrying capacity of nearly 500 kilograms.

It has been developed by a Shanghai-based start-up named AutoFlight, who say that their design could come become a viable and affordable transportation option for tourists or for commuters looking to beat the city traffic.

"We can offer sightseeing experiences along the Yangtze River and provide air transportation. This would take only one-fifth or even one-tenth of the time that ground transportation takes, and the ticket may be less than six yuan (less than a dollar) after its large-scale application in the future," said Xie Jia, senior vice president of AutoFlight.

China has identified development of the so-called "low-altitude economy" as a key task for fostering new growth in 2024. The city of Nanjing has been at the forefront of this push, and opened up a civil unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) test zone back in 2020, with over 24,000 test flights taking place there by the end of last year.

Officials say Thursday's successful trial will give another boost to the fast-developing industry as it continually aspires to hit new heights.

"This marks a solid step forward for Nanjing City in exploring the low-altitude economy, and a bold rehearsal for the future transportation mode of our city. It is of great significance for expanding low altitude tourism, urban commuting, emergency rescue, logistics distribution and other scenarios in the future," said Shi Shan, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Pukou Hi-Tech Zone in Nanjing

China's eVTOL industry grew by 77.3 percent last year to hit 980 million yuan (over 135 million dollars), while its market scale is expected to soar to a staggering 9.5 billion yuan (over 1.3 billion U.S. dollars) by 2026, according to a report released by market research firm CCID Consulting.

Local elections conclude across Russia

2024-09-09 19:12 Last Updated At：19:37

Russia's three-day local and regional elections, including in the war-affected western Kursk region, concluded on Sunday.

The 2024 elections were held in large part of the country on Sept. 8, with several regions allowing voting on Sept. 6 and 7.

Security was beefed up in Kursk, where voting started earlier than in other regions in this year's elections.

According to Russian Central Election Commission, the Acting Governor of Kursk Alexey Smirnov won more than almost 65.3 percent of the votes to become governor of the region.

Meanwhile, by-elections for the Russian State Duma were also held.

Russia did not postpone the vote in Kursk despite the Ukrainian incursion and fierce front-line battles.

Lyudmila Dremova, Chairperson of the Public Headquarters of Observers for the Elections of the Governor of the Kursk Region, said that the elections proceeded smoothly, and no irregularities were reported.

"During its operation, the public monitoring center has received more than 7,000 reports and short messages from our polling stations. I would like to say that the entire process proceeded as normal. We have received no reports of any irregularities," said the chairperson.

"Peace" and "prosperity" were the words that were heard more often than others during the elections in Kursk, with young people also calling for attention to be paid to everyday issues.

"There were less bombings, yes. It became quieter. I don't remember the last time the explosion happened. The nights have become calmer. We sleep peacefully," said Ilya Plesovskikh, a resident of Kursk.

"There are not enough parks in the city. We hope that more entertainment places can be built for young people. Somehow more efforts have been made in this direction. Something new began to be built for the young people," said Maria, another local resident.