Flying Taxi Trio Flies in Formation

A flying taxi company has demonstrated a formation of three self-flying electric aerial vehicles (EAV) in Shanghai, China, this week.

The prototype vehicles from AutoFlight took off vertically and flew in formation. The vehicles have flown at different heights and for different durations. Previous test flights have ranged up to 75 miles at a time and up to 42 minutes per flight.

AutoFlight plans to turn the prototypes into products, starting with a cargo-carrying version for Asia next year, followed by a passenger-carrying version.

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"We aim to complement urban and regional means of transport for all people by building very safe, quiet and affordable air taxis," says Tian Yu, founder of AutoFlight.

The company has dual headquarters in Shanghai, China, and Augsburg, Germany.

"The formation flight is a testament to our commitment towards making aerial transport safe, sustainable and accessible," said Mark Henning, former Airbus helicopter engineering chief and head of the AutoFlight Europe team. "We have much more to come."

The seven-year-old startup is backed by the European technology holding company Team Global, which also has investments in other electric aerial vehicle companies Archer Aviation and Volocopter.

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