The School of Civil Aviation at Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in Xi'an – capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province – recently completed the test flight of its first electric vertical take-off and landing (e-VTOL) aircraft.

Students from the School of Civil Aviation at NPU operate the e-VTOL aircraft. [Photo provided to en.xa.gov.cn]

In recent years, the concept of future urban three-dimensional transportation and green aviation has attracted more and more attention and e-VTOL aircraft have become a research hotspot because of their economical, safe and convenient functionalities.

The aircraft project was led by Cui Hao, a professor at the NPU School of Civil Aviation and joining in were 11 teachers and 11 of its 2022 graduates, as well as six international students and 14 undergraduates from other grades.

The project has garnered great attention from the faculty and staff members of the school who have made every effort to ensure the provision of various resources.

Throughout the project, students have learned about the entire process of aircraft designs, manufacturing and testing, and deepened their general understanding of the sector.

Although e-VTOL aircraft have not yet been put into large-scale production and operation, they are widely expected to play an increasingly important role in future commercial travelling.

Moving forwards, plans are for the school to launch more of such high-quality projects and platforms, to help students who are interested in the civil aviation industry to realize their dreams.