China delivered its first domestically developed new energy light sport aircraft, the RX1E-A, to a general aviation airport in east China's Anhui Province on May 18, 2024.

Powered by lithium battery and made of carbon fiber composite material, the aircraft is the world's first two-seat electric light sport aircraft with a design certificate and mass production license. The Civil Aviation Association of China (CAAC) issued the Type Certificate to the model in 2018 and the Production Certificate in 2019. The aircraft is also the world's first to gain an airworthiness certificate under the American Society for Testing and Materials standards.

"Electric light sport aircraft have a wide range of applications," Zhang Feng, the president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) of China, told CGTN.

"They can be used for pilot training, aerial sightseeing, short-distance commuting, and aerobatic performances," Zhang added.

Produced by Rhyxeon General Aircraft, the aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 630 kilograms and can be operated in air for up to 2.5 hours with a range of 240 kilometers. 

As of March 2024, the company has already secured 22 orders and over 400 letters of intent for orders.

General aviation in China

The Chinese government has listed the low-altitude economy in its work report for 2024, giving wings to businesses involved in this sector, which is expected to become a new engine for economic growth.

Major low-altitude hardware in the sector of general aviation includes small fixed-wing planes, helicopters and drones. The size of China's low-altitude economy as of the end of last year was estimated at more than 500 billion yuan ($70 billion), and is expected to reach 2 trillion yuan by 2030, according to CAAC.

"Driven by national policies and technological advancement, China's low-altitude economy is developing rapidly," said Zhang. "From ground to space, it is expanding economic opportunities to three dimensions, opening up infinite imagination." 

"I believe that in the coming years, the low-altitude economy will bring about unimaginable changes to the entire society, just as we could not have imagined the convenience of mobile payments over a decade ago," he said.