XPeng HT Aero held an advanced preview event for its "land aircraft carrier" flying car. The split-type flying car, dubbed the "land aircraft carrier," made its debut in Guangzhou, where a public test flight was conducted, showcasing application scenarios for this futuristic vehicle. Zhao Deli, the founder of XPeng HT Aero, provided a detailed introduction to the company's development journey, its mission and vision, the "three-step" product development strategy, the highlights of the "land aircraft carrier," and this year's key commercialization plans. The "land aircraft carrier" is set to make its first public manned flight in November at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, one of the world's four largest airshows, held in Zhuhai. It will also participate in the Guangzhou International Auto Show in November, with plans to begin pre-sales by the end of the year.
XPeng HT Aero is currently the largest flying car company in Asia and an ecosystem company of XPeng Motors. In October 2023, XPeng HT Aero officially unveiled the split-type flying car "Land Aircraft Carrier," which was under development. Less than a year later, the company held an advanced preview event today, where the product was showcased for the first time in its full form. As XPeng HT Aero's founder, Zhao Deli, slowly drew back the curtain, the imposing appearance of the "Land Aircraft Carrier" was gradually revealed.
In addition to the vehicle showcase, XPeng HT Aero also demonstrated the actual flight process of the "Land Aircraft Carrier" to the guests. The aircraft took off vertically from the lawn, flew a full circuit, and then landed smoothly. This represents a typical future use scenario for "Land Aircraft Carrier" users: friends and family can go on an outing together, not only enjoying outdoor camping but also experiencing low-altitude flights in scenic locations, offering a fresh perspective and viewing the beauty from the sky.
The "Land Aircraft Carrier" features a minimalist, sharp cyber-mecha design language that gives it an immediate "new species" feel. The vehicle is approximately 5.5 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 2 meters high, capable of fitting into standard parking spaces and entering underground garages, with a C-class license being sufficient to drive it on the road. The "Land Aircraft Carrier" consists of two main parts: the land module and the flight module. The land module, also known as the "mothership," features a three-axle, six-wheel design that allows for 6x6 all-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering, providing excellent load capacity and off-road capabilities. The land "mothership" has overcome unprecedented engineering challenges to create the world's only car with a trunk capable of holding an "aircraft," while still offering a spacious and comfortable four-seat cabin
The side profile of the "Land Aircraft Carrier" is strikingly minimalist, with a sleek "galactic parabolic" roofline extending from the integrated front headlights. The electrically powered, opposing-opening doors add a touch of luxury and grandeur. The land "mothership" features a "semi-transparent glass" trunk design, where the stored aircraft is faintly visible, allowing the vehicle to proudly showcase cutting-edge future technology whether driving on the road or parked.
The aircraft itself features an innovative six-axis, six-propeller, dual-ducted design. Its main body structure and propeller blades are made from carbon fiber, ensuring both high strength and lightweight performance. The aircraft is equipped with a 270° panoramic cockpit, offering users an expansive view for an immersive flight experience. This seamless blend of form and function highlights how futuristic technology is becoming part of everyday life.
Through in-house development, XPeng HT Aero has created the world’s first in-vehicle automatic separation and docking mechanism, allowing the land module and flight module to separate and reconnect with the push of a button. After separation, the six arms and rotors of the flight module unfold, enabling low-altitude flight. Once the flight module lands, the six arms and rotors retract, and the vehicle’s autonomous driving function and automatic docking system precisely reattach it to the land module.
This groundbreaking innovation addresses two major pain points of traditional aircraft: difficulty in mobility and storage. The land module is not only a mobile platform but also a storage and recharging platform, truly living up to the name "Land Aircraft Carrier." It enables users to achieve "seamless mobility and free flight."
Hardcore power technology: carefree travelling and flying
The Mothership is equipped with the world's first 800V Silicon Carbide range-extending power platform, with a combined range of over 1,000km, making it easy to meet the demands of long-distance travel. In addition, the ‘Mothership’ is also a ‘mobile super charging station’, which can be used to replenish the aircraft with super high power during travelling and parking, and can achieve 6 flights with full fuel and full power.
The flying body is equipped with an all-area 800V silicon carbide high-voltage platform, and the flight battery, electric drive, electric culvert, compressor, etc. are all 800V, thus realising lower energy consumption and higher charging speed.
The "Land Aircraft Carrier" aircraft supports both manual and automatic driving modes. Traditional aircraft are notoriously complex to operate, requiring significant learning time and effort. To simplify this, XPeng HT Aero pioneered a single-stick control system, allowing users to control the aircraft with one hand, eliminating the traditional "two hands and two feet" operation method. Even users with no prior experience can "get the hang of it in 5 minutes and become proficient within 3 hours." This innovation drastically reduces the learning curve and makes flying accessible to a wider audience.
In auto-pilot mode, it can realise one-key take-off and landing, automatic route planning and automatic flight, and has multi-dimensional intelligent aerial perception obstacle avoidance assistance, landing vision assistance and other functions.
The aircraft adopts a full-spectrum redundancy safety design, where key systems such as power, flight control, power supply, communication, and control have redundant backups. If the first system fails, the second system can seamlessly take over. The intelligent flight control and navigation system uses triple-redundant heterogeneous architecture, incorporating different hardware and software structures to reduce the risk of a single failure affecting the entire system, thereby enhancing overall safety.
Moving forward, XPeng HT Aero plans to deploy over 200 aircraft to conduct a wide variety of safety tests across three levels: components, systems, and complete machines. For example, XPeng HT Aero will carry out a series of single-point failure tests on all critical systems and components of the aircraft, including rotors, motors, battery packs, flight control systems, and navigation equipment. Additionally, "three-high" tests will be conducted to verify the performance, safety, and reliability of the aircraft under extreme conditions such as high temperatures, extreme cold, and high-altitude environments.
Layout of National Flying Car Experience Network: Making Flight Within Reach
Zhao Deli introduced that while creating safe, intelligent flying cars and other low-altitude travel products for users, the company is also joining hands with national partners to rapidly promote the construction of ‘land carrier’ application scenarios.
XPeng HT Aero envisions that users in major cities across the country will be able to reach the nearest flying camp within a 30-minute drive, with some cities requiring no more than two hours. This will enable the freedom to travel and fly whenever the user wishes. In the future, self-driving trips will expand into the skies, with flying camps integrated into classic travel routes. Users will be able to "drive and fly along the way," experiencing the joy of "soaring over mountains and seas, traversing the skies and earth" freely.
Flying cars not only provide a new experience for personal travel but also show great potential for applications in public services. XPeng HT Aero is simultaneously expanding the use cases of the "Land Aircraft Carrier" in public service sectors, such as emergency medical rescue, short-distance obstacle rescue, highway accident assistance, and high-rise escape pods.
Mission, Vision, and "Three-Step" Strategy: Focused on Product Creation and Achieving Flying Freedom
At the advanced preview event, Zhao Deli introduced XPeng HT Aero's mission, vision, and its "three-step" product strategy for the first time.
Flight has long been a dream of humanity, and XPeng HT Aero is committed to making "flight more free." Through the research and application of innovative technology, the company aims to continually create new species of products, open new fields, and progressively address the needs for personal flight, air commuting, and public services. It seeks to drive the transformation of low-altitude travel, breaking the boundaries of traditional aviation so that everyone can enjoy the freedom and convenience of flying.
XPeng HT Aero also aims to evolve from an explorer to a leader, from manufacturing to innovation, and from China to the global stage, quickly becoming the "world's leading creator of low-altitude products." The current national efforts to develop the low-altitude economy provide a solid foundation for XPeng HT Aero to achieve its mission and vision
XPeng HT Aero believes that for the low-altitude economy to reach a trillion-dollar scale, it must solve the transportation issues for both passengers and cargo, and the development of "air commuting" scenarios will take time to mature. Low-altitude flight will first be introduced in "limited scenarios" such as suburban areas, scenic spots, and flying camps, and will gradually expand to "typical scenarios" like transportation between hubs and intercity travel. Ultimately, this will lead to door-to-door, point-to-point "3D transportation." In short, the progression will be: start with "wild flights," then move to urban CBD flights, from suburban areas to cities, and from recreational flying to aerial transportation.
Based on its assessment of these application scenarios, XPeng HT Aero is advancing a "three-step" product strategy:
- The first step is to launch the split-type flying car, "Land Aircraft Carrier," primarily for flight experiences in limited scenarios and public service applications. Through mass production and sales, this will drive the development and improvement of the low-altitude flying industry and ecosystem, validating the business model of flying cars.
- The second step is to introduce high-speed, long-range eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) products to solve air transportation challenges in typical scenarios. This step will be carried out alongside collaboration with various parties involved in low-altitude flight to promote the construction of urban 3D transportation.
- The third step is to launch an integrated land-air flying car, which will truly achieve door-to-door, point-to-point urban 3D transportation.
To meet more diverse needs, XPeng HT Aero also plans to develop derivative products of the land and flight modules of the "Land Aircraft Carrier" between the first and second steps, supporting users' needs for broader experiences and public services.
Post time: Sep-05-2024
