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The ePlane Company, an IIT Madras-incubated startup, unveiled the e200X (PT-01), India's first full-scale prototype of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, at its Chennai facility.
The 2-tonne, carbon-fibre aircraft measures 8m x 11m, uses six vertical lift rotors and four forward propellers with Distributed Electric Propulsion, and runs on an 800V EV powertrain with the NVIDIA IGX Thor compute platform.
It is designed to carry 1 pilot plus 200 kg payload (up to 2 passengers or a trauma patient with a paramedic) over a 110 km range, with air ambulance service planned as the first commercial use case.
The ePlane Company, founded in 2019 by Satya Chakravarthy and Pranjal Mehta, has raised $21.5 million in funding; certified flight testing is scheduled to begin mid-2027.
A zero-emission, battery-powered aircraft that takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter, then transitions to winged forward flight like an airplane. The e200X uses separate rotor sets for lift and cruise (rather than tilting rotors), so Distributed Electric Propulsion allows surviving motors to redistribute thrust automatically if one fails, avoiding single-point mechanical failure.
Simple Analogy: Like a helicopter and a small airplane combined into one vehicle, but instead of one engine tilting between modes, it has separate dedicated engines for 'going up' and 'going forward' — so losing one motor doesn't mean losing the whole system.
Developer of the e200X eVTOL
The ePlane Company founded
Received Design Organisation Approval (DOA) from DGCA
Full-scale e200X (PT-01) prototype unveiled
Certified flight testing scheduled to begin
GS Paper III - Science & Technology (Indigenous innovation, aerospace)
Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft — combines helicopter-like vertical lift with airplane-like forward flight
A propulsion architecture using multiple independent electric motors, so remaining motors compensate if one fails