In science fiction films, we can always see all kinds of vehicles that shuttle freely in the air. In real life, with the increasing urban population and the increasing problem of ground traffic congestion, new air vehicles are attracting people's hearts. Recently, China's self-developed two-ton electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft successfully completed the test flight, which is considered to be the future "air car rental".
The electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft M1 developed and designed by an aviation technology company in Shanghai is 10 meters long, 3 meters high, 15 meters wingspan, weighs 2 tons, is unmanned, has a design range of 250 kilometers, a cruising speed of 200 kilometers per hour, a maximum load of 500 kilograms, and can carry 5 people at the same time.
Similar to aerial photography drones, agricultural plant protection drones, and industrial drones, this aircraft does not require a runway, can take off and land vertically, and can also achieve low noise and zero carbon emissions due to electric drive.
At the end of March this year, the first electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft M1 officially rolled off the assembly line from the factory, the first round of flight tests began in September, and the first flight was successfully completed in October, becoming China's first self-developed two-ton electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
At the 6th China International Import Expo, this "empty car rental" representing the city's future air travel mode was particularly eye-catching, and it got an intention order.
Excellent materials, advanced automotive power enterprises cross-border blessing.
The continuous emergence of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft of different types and purposes has opened up the imagination space for us to have a three-dimensional transportation network in the future. However, in the development process of these electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, it is inseparable from the coordinated efforts of the first chain and the industrial chain. The M1 electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft only needs 2 to 3 people to assemble and assemble, and the secret to this ease lies in its ultra-light carbon fiber "coat".
In the manufacturing process of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, carbon fiber accounts for 80% of the weight of the application of the fuselage structure. The thickness of a layer of carbon fiber raw material is only 01 mm to 02 mm, in the case of M1, for example, the thickness of the wing and fuselage connection needs to be between 12 mm and 15 mm, and 120 to 150 layers of carbon fiber prepreg need to be manually laid.
In addition to the selection of new materials, the process of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft is also different from the manufacturing process of traditional aircraft. On the one hand, scientific researchers must avoid the invasion of "blood vessels" and "nerves" from high-radiation magnetic fields during flight, and on the other hand, they must lay more complex lines in a limited space to ensure safety and control weight.
The power system of an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft is composed of three parts: battery, motor and electronic control, which is equivalent to the heart. In the past ten years, China's new energy vehicle industry has developed rapidly, and there are many technical reserves and industrial bases in batteries, motors, electronic control, etc., which provide favorable conditions for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft to build a strong "Chinese heart".
In order for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft to fly freely in the air, it is inseparable from the flight control system, which is known as the "brain". The flight control system independently developed by a company in Shanghai does not require a special pilot, and even one person can control multiple aircraft.
At present, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft have become the new favorite in the field of new transportation, which is expected to fill the gap between civil aviation and ground transportation, and build a low-altitude three-dimensional transportation system in the low-altitude field above the ground and below 3,000 meters. China's electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft started late, but new products have been emerging, and more and more application scenarios are also being explored.
Xu Dongsong, associate researcher of China Civil Aviation Management College: Overall, China is currently in the first phalanx in the world in the field of electric vertical take-off and landing (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).