AutoFlight Completes World's First Five-eVTOL Formation Flight, Covering 133 km in 47 Minutes
Why It MattersCoordinated autonomous multi-aircraft flight across mixed weight classes points toward the networked operations that future low-altitude transport routes will depend on.
AutoFlight has completed what it describes as the world's first formation flight involving five eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft of two different weight classes. The demonstrations took place on October 31 and November 1 at AutoFlight's Bailian Lake flight test base in Kunshan, China.
The formation consisted of one 5-tonne V5000 Matrix and four 2-tonne eVTOLs, spanning three models: the V5000 Matrix, the V2000CG CarryAll cargo eVTOL and the V2000CGF CarryAll firefighting eVTOL. The five aircraft flew a coordinated 47-minute flight with the V5000 in the lead, covering more than 133 km. The flight was conducted entirely autonomously, with no manual intervention, and despite strong winds on November 1 the formation held stable flight and safe horizontal and vertical separation.
The events brought together alumni of the Stanford Executive Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, international eVTOL industry professionals, and AutoFlight customers and partners. Guests also visited Sunship, AutoFlight's eco-friendly water vertiport on Dianshan Lake, and watched the formation flight from the lakeshore.
The flight builds on AutoFlight's three-aircraft formation demonstration in May 2026. AutoFlight said it shows growing capabilities in autonomous multi-aircraft operations and lays technical groundwork for future low-altitude transport networks linking long-distance, regional and last-mile routes.
