XPENG AEROHT flew the X2 over Skydive Dubai on 10 October 2022. It was the X2’s first public flight, and it took place after a risk assessment and a special flying permit from Dubai’s civil aviation authority, the DCAA. More than 150 guests watched, among them the Chinese consulate in Dubai, the Dubai International Chamber of Commerce, the DCAA, Dubai’s department of economy and tourism, the Dubai World Trade Centre and international media.
Ahead of the flight Brian Gu, vice chairman and president of XPENG, gave an opening keynote on the X2 and the future of mobility on the first day of GITEX in the Dubai World Trade Centre. The X2 was exhibited in XPENG AEROHT’s pavilion in Za’abeel Hall 3.
Risk assessment and flight permit
The assessment is called a specific operations risk assessment. XPENG AEROHT’s own team compiled the technical data on the X2, drew up the concept of operations and the manual for the demonstration flight and assessed the risk, with help from the Sanad Academy and the DCAA. The authority’s assessors highlighted the aircraft’s stability and the standardised execution of the whole flight.
XPENG writes that it is the first time a Chinese manned autonomous flying vehicle has completed an operational risk assessment outside China, and that the company is the first to pass the assessment in Dubai in that weight class.
The aircraft
The X2 is the fifth generation of AEROHT’s flying car: two seats, with an enclosed teardrop cabin in carbon fibre. It can be flown manually or autonomously. In autonomous mode take-off, return and landing happen at one touch. XPENG describes it as intended for short low-altitude trips over the city, such as sightseeing and patient transport.
The release also announced that the sixth generation would be shown at XPENG’s Tech Day on 24 October 2022: a vehicle that both drives on the road and takes off vertically by means of a folding system. The company’s later flying project, the Land Aircraft Carrier, stood on XPENG’s stand at IFA in Berlin in September 2026.
XPENG’s European headquarters was established in Amsterdam in 2021, with offices in Copenhagen, Munich, Oslo and Stockholm. The XPENG company page has the rest.
Images: XPENG
Sources
XPENG: the X2 completes its first global public flight in Dubai · 10 October 2022