China’s Skyward Leap: Flying Vehicles Unveiled
China advances in personal air mobility with flying bicycles, biomorphic drones, and autonomous eVTOLs, revolutionizing future transportation.
China Aviation
By Elke Porter | WBN News Global | May 7, 2025
China’s push into advanced aviation has birthed remarkable inventions, blending creativity with cutting-edge technology. Among these are the flying bicycle, flying horse, and human-operated drone, each showcasing the nation’s ambition to redefine personal transport and utility in the skies.
The flying bicycle, a brainchild of Chinese engineer Zhao Deli, is a human-powered, propeller-driven marvel. Unveiled in 2018 after 1,559 test flights, this eight-propeller drone-like vehicle, dubbed “Jindouyun” (Magical Cloud), lifts its rider into the air at speeds up to 43 mph.
Zhao, who sold his house to fund the project, designed it for practical uses like crop spraying, with ambitions to fly it along China’s Yellow River. Its lightweight frame and battery-powered motor make it a unique blend of bicycle and drone, offering a glimpse into eco-friendly, low-altitude transport.
Equally intriguing is the “flying horse,” a conceptual autonomous drone shaped like a horse, developed for potential logistics and surveillance. While details remain sparse, it aligns with China’s low-altitude economy, projected to reach $280 billion by 2030. Such biomorphic drones, like the “Little Falcon” robotic bird, leverage lifelike designs for stealth and efficiency, hinting at future applications in urban delivery or military reconnaissance.
The human-operated drone, exemplified by EHang’s EH216-S, is a two-seater, fully autonomous eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft. Certified in 2023, it can fly 25 minutes at 63 mph, following pre-programmed routes. EHang’s vision of “cities in the sky” sees these drones as air taxis, with test flights already cutting travel times, like Shenzhen to Zhuhai in 20 minutes.
These innovations, backed by China's relaxed drone regulations and significant R&D investment, herald a future where personal flight becomes accessible, sustainable, and transformative, reshaping global navigation.
While it may take a few years for these advancements to reach Canada or the US, this delay provides an opportunity to observe the development and integration of this technology elsewhere, learn from any challenges encountered, and prepare for a seamless adaptation of personal flight systems in these countries.
#China Aviation #Flying Cars #Urban Mobility #Tech Innovation #Drone Revolution #Future Transport #WBN News Vancouver #Elke Porter
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