AutoFlight Completes World's First 5-eVTOL Formation Flight

AutoFlight says it has completed the world’s first formation flight using five eVTOL aircraft across two weight classes. The event took place Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at AutoFlight’s Bailian Lake Flight Test Base in Kunshan, China. The formation combined one 5-ton V5000 Matrix with four 2-ton eVTOLs spanning three models: V5000 Matrix, V2000CG CarryAll cargo eVTOL, and V2000CGF CarryAll firefighting eVTOL. The aircraft flew together for 47 minutes and covered more than 133 km, with the lead V5000 flying autonomously. On Nov. 1, strong winds did not prevent stable flight and safe horizontal and vertical separation.