ePlane has inaugurated a 5,570 sqm integrated eVTOL prototyping and testing facility
India’s urban air mobility sector marked a milestone as ePlane, a start-up manufacturer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has inaugurated a 5,570 sqm integrated eVTOL prototyping and testing facility at the IIT Madras Discovery Campus.
In a press statement, ePlane says that the unit is the largest dedicated eVTOL facility in the country, adding that the development signals a shift from concept-stage electric aircraft design to in-house prototyping and testing.
The company is building what it describes as the world’s most compact air taxi, with an 8mx10m footprint, aimed at operating in high-density urban environments.
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The first planned commercial application is air ambulances. The company states that the platform is designed to reduce critical medical transport time by up to seven times compared to road transit.
The ePlane company is the first private Indian firm to receive both design organisation approval and type certification acceptance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), according to the company.
According to the statement, the project is supported through collaborations with NVIDIA, Amazon Web Services, Dassault Systemes and Ansys via CADFEM and the the facility was inaugurated by V Kamakoti, Director of Indian Institute of Technology Madras.