Image Credit: AutoFlight.
We are constantly told that the future of travel is electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft - eVTOLs, if you enjoy acronyms. Usually, these things are tiny, fragile little drones that look like they'd struggle to carry a hearty sandwich, let alone a human. But AutoFlight has just looked at the laws of physics, laughed, and built a flying bus.
Meet the Matrix. No, not the movie with the leather trench coats - though this thing is arguably just as surreal. This is a multinational aviation beast that claims to be the planet's first 5-ton eVTOL. And they actually flew this monster. In public. In China. It successfully pulled off a "transition flight" - it went up like a helicopter, flew forward like a plane, and landed without turning into a very expensive fireball. That is no small feat.
Image Credit: AutoFlight.
Most air taxis we see, like the ones from Joby or Archer, are cute little runabouts in comparison. The Matrix is gargantuan. It has a wingspan of 65 feet. It is 56 feet long and stands nearly 11 feet tall. The pilotless eHang VT35 - which seats two terrified people - is less than half the size. The Matrix has a maximum take-off weight of 12,566 pounds. That is six tons of metal and batteries hovering over your head. It's got 20 rotors. Imagine the noise…. It's a ceiling fan convention gone rogue.
But here is where it gets interesting, and slightly luxurious. The Matrix is designed to seat 10 passengers in business-class comfort, or six "VIPs" if you really need the legroom. It even has bathrooms and climate control. Finally, an eVTOL where you can pee in peace while cruising at altitude. If you aren't moving people, the cargo version swallows 3,300 pounds of freight. It fits two standard aviation containers, meaning your Amazon packages might soon arrive with a bit more style than a beat-up delivery van.
Image Credit: AutoFlight.
How far can this monstrosity fly before it drops out of the sky? The all-electric version manages about 155 miles. That's decent for a city hop, I suppose. But if you opt for the hybrid-electric cargo variant, the range shoots up all the way to a properly useful 932 miles. AutoFlight says the 20 lift motors provide redundancy, so if one or two fail, you don't immediately plummet.
AutoFlight seems to think this beast is perfect for everything from logistics to emergency response. They even teased a solar-powered floating airport concept recently - why land on the ground when you can land on a barge? We don't know the price yet, though it's likely "expensive" with a capital E, or when it will officially launch. But while everyone else is building compact air taxis, AutoFlight has built a flying mansion.
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