CHENNAI: The electric aircraft developed by startup ePlane Company has received acceptance for type certification from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This is the first Indian private company to get accepted under the new rules for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft issued last September.
The DGCA issued airworthiness criteria for type certification of vertical take off and landing capable aircraft (VCA) and issued specifications for vertiports (terminals) used by them.
Prof. Satya Chakravarthy, founder told TOI the company has many firsts, including acceptance for testing eVTOLs in India, testing propellers for the first time in the Indo-Pacific region. The startup aims to complete test flights by the end of 2026. “We will make multiple prototypes and then clock cumulative flying hours to demonstrate compliance,” he said.
The company plans to provide air ambulances, cargo planes, chartered flights in tourist sites and air taxis in major metros. “The aircraft is spacious enough to operate an air ambulance with a stretcher that can be wheeled into the aircraft. So there is an air ambulance, charter flights in tourist locations, aerial cargo, in addition to the taxis…We are scoping partners such as hospitals, vertiport builders, charging infrastructure providers as well as charter operators. The company is striking partnerships with real estate players for vertiport building, airports, logistic providers, but these are in very early stages,” he said.
The company is currently testing only in India as the global regulatory framework for eVTOLs evolves. “The Indian market is probably a lot more primed for this. Even than the advanced economies mainly because our city infrastructure is actually not that great and higher volumes of traffic,” he said.
Prof Chakravarthy is also optimistic on the viability of the business compared to traditional air ambulances, as helicopters have maintenance and fuel costs and thus lower patronage and asset utilisation. “We are going to climb down a spiral where we will essentially say that it’s going to become a lot more affordable within what insurance companies today are willing to cover for,” he said.
The IIT-M incubated startup so far raised $20 million and plans to raise up to $30 million. “ The more money would actually mean that we can go to market directly instead of just finishing certification. It depends on how the market appetite grows for this as we are able to show the first prototype flights,” he said.
