China-based TCab Tech has released footage of its transition flight test using its half-scale E20 eVTOL demonstrator.
The company said the demonstrator serves as a flight test platform, allowing its engineering team to collect data to validate the aircraft’s design and configuration.
TCab is planning to develop a five-seat eVTOL aircraft with a targeted cruising speed of 260 kilometers per hour (162 miles per hour), range of 200 km (125 miles), and maximum payload of 450 kilograms (992 pounds).
The aircraft will have six propellers — four tilt-propellers used for forward flight and transition, and two double-stacked fixed propellers for lift.
The company recently secured US$10 million during two rounds of fundraising last year, and also became a member of the Vertical Flight Society.
The flight wasn’t really a true flight test in the context of professional aviation. Sort of like preseason in shorts without pads just throwing the ball around and some causal windsprints.
A true flight test would involve a fully instrumented aircraft with Telemetry tracking antennas recording the mission while operations were being conducted from a true control room.