Recently, AutoFlight's 2-ton eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) "CargoCopter" completed a 161-kilometer transport flight carrying approximately 200 kilograms of blueberry juice and SF Express packages. According to AutoFlight, this marks the world's first intercity agricultural product low-altitude unmanned cargo route using a 2-ton eVTOL, signifying a breakthrough in China's long-range intercity low-altitude logistics applications. In August this year, the "CargoCopter" also successfully completed the world's first offshore oil platform material transport flight, representing a crucial step forward for China's low-altitude logistics applications across maritime and terrestrial scenarios. These two flights not only mark the eVTOL industry's critical transition from the "capital-consuming" R&D phase to the "value-creating" operational phase, but also signify that in the inaugural year of low-altitude economy transitioning from preliminary planning to industrial implementation, compound wing technology has been the first to achieve real-world applications.

The CargoCopter employs compound wing technology with an applicable range of 200 kilometers, cruise speed exceeding 180 kilometers per hour, and a payload capacity of 400 kilograms. "Targeting the South China Sea's characteristics of high salt spray, high humidity, strong gusts, and limited takeoff and landing space on offshore platforms, the CargoCopter successfully completed multiple key test subjects, fully validating the technical feasibility and operational reliability of large eVTOLs in marine oil industry operational scenarios," introduced Xie Jia, Senior Vice President of AutoFlight.

Technical routes essentially determine an aircraft's core performance: how it takes off and lands, cruises, flight range, and speed. After years of R&D and iteration, eVTOL has now formed three mainstream technical routes: multirotor, compound wing, and tiltrotor, each with distinct advantages in technical principles and performance characteristics.

Multirotor was the earliest technical route to enter the market, with EHang Intelligence's EH216-S being a typical representative of this configuration. The EH216-S resembles an enlarged multirotor drone, relying on multiple rotors to provide vertical lift and horizontal thrust, achieving flight attitude changes through rotor speed adjustment or vector control. While multirotor structures are simple and stable in hover, they have short endurance and low speed, with ranges typically within 30 kilometers, making them unsuitable for long-distance missions but more appropriate for urban sightseeing or low-altitude tourism. In March this year, EHang Intelligence's EH216-S received China's first batch of Operational Certificates (OC) for manned civil unmanned aircraft issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Combined with the previously obtained world's first Type Certificate (TC), Standard Airworthiness Certificate (AC), and Production Certificate (PC) for manned eVTOL products, EHang Intelligence became the world's first company to achieve the "four certificates," marking that low-altitude manned services and future urban air transportation can officially begin commercialization and gradually move toward mass consumer adoption.

Due to significant differences in flight principles and applicable scenarios between multirotor and the other two configurations, eVTOL configuration discussions often focus on compound wing versus tiltrotor, which appear almost simultaneously in global mainstream manufacturers' product lineups. According to the "Global eVTOL Manufacturer Advanced Air Traffic Reality Index" published by overseas consulting authority SMG Consulting, as of June 2025, among 31 global mainstream eVTOL manufacturers, those choosing compound wing configuration account for nearly 42%, the highest proportion among all eVTOL configurations, with tiltrotor configuration closely following at 35%.

Compound wing combines the characteristics of fixed-wing and multirotor aircraft, offering clear advantages and achieving practical scenario applications in the inaugural year of low-altitude economy implementation. In August this year, AutoFlight's "V2000CG CargoCopter" completed the world's first offshore oil platform material transport flight, viewed as a landmark event marking China's low-altitude economy's official transition from the "proof of concept" stage to the "value creation" stage. The "V2000CG CargoCopter" is a typical representative of compound wing configuration, featuring 10 lift rotors and 3 propulsion rotors. Company Senior Vice President Xie Jia previously stated that compound wing configuration combines vertical takeoff and landing with high-speed forward flight capabilities, enabling eVTOL to both vertically take off and land and cruise at high speeds. During cruise, the lift generated by wings and canards propels eVTOL forward flight, significantly improving flight efficiency, thereby reducing battery consumption and ensuring endurance capability for ton-class and above eVTOLs. In July this year, this aircraft model's individual Airworthiness Certificate (AC) was approved by China's Civil Aviation Administration, becoming the world's first ton-class and above eVTOL with "three complete certificates" (TC, PC, and AC).

Besides AutoFlight's V2000CG, TCab Tech's M1, Volant's VE25-100, and overseas companies like Eve Air Mobility and Beta Technologies' eVTOL products have also chosen compound wing configuration. This technical route uses rotors to provide lift during vertical takeoff and landing, then switches to fixed-wing flight during cruise, balancing vertical takeoff and landing with high-speed cruise, offering fast speed, long flight time, and reduced battery consumption, making it more suitable for urban and intercity commuting and logistics transportation. Additionally, compound wing structures are simple with no additional mechanisms, providing higher reliability and further reducing eVTOL maintenance requirements and operational costs.

The M1, independently developed by TCab Tech, features "16 vertical lift rotors + 4 forward propulsion rotors," currently the ton-class compound wing eVTOL with the most rotors. Company founder, Chairman and CTO Liu Shiyi previously pointed out in public speeches that compound wing achieves optimal balance in cruise efficiency, range, and safety, better matching low-altitude travel's high-frequency, routine demands. Internal design evaluation data from TCab Tech shows that compared to tiltrotor, compound wing cruise propulsion efficiency improves by 10%, electric drive efficiency is 3% higher, rotor-related weight is 30% lighter, total range is approximately 6% higher, and supports rapid switching between rotor and fixed-wing modes.

Another mainstream technical route, tiltrotor, is currently still in the technical development phase. During takeoff, tiltrotor aircraft rotors provide lift like helicopters; during cruise, rotors gradually tilt from vertical to horizontal position under the tilt mechanism's action. During this transition process, rotor lift direction gradually changes from vertical to horizontal while generating forward thrust, propelling the aircraft to accelerate into horizontal cruise state. Since all power systems can participate in propulsion and all blades participate in cruise flight with no stationary blades and thus no drag from this portion, tiltrotor has approximately 4% less drag than compound wing and maximum speed approximately 70% higher than compound wing, further reducing travel time.

Chinese companies AeroHT's AE200, TCab's E20, and overseas companies Joby Aviation, Inc.'s S4 and Archer Aviation's Midnight have all chosen this technical route. Among them, Joby Aviation, Inc. completed the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's Phase III type certification in 2024, providing important reference for global tiltrotor configurations. Joby Executive Chairman Paul Sciarra previously stated that tiltrotor possesses core characteristics of structural simplicity, streamlined components, safety and reliability, low noise and environmental friendliness, and cost-effectiveness, making it truly suitable eVTOL for future urban air mobility.

TCab founder Huang Yongwei previously mentioned that tiltrotor rotors provide both lift and cruise thrust, offering fast flight speed, high load ratio, high overall cost-effectiveness, and relatively clear airworthiness regulations, providing good operational economics and advantages in future commercial scenarios.

Currently, multirotor eVTOL has high technical maturity suitable for small-scale, short-distance operations, appropriate for scenic area sightseeing and low-altitude tourism; compound wing eVTOL achieves optimal balance in cruise efficiency, range, and safety, and has been first to achieve real-world applications, representing the current mainstream direction for eVTOL commercialization. Tiltrotor eVTOL excels in maximum speed with high overall cost-effectiveness, with both configurations being optimal choices for urban and intercity commuting "air taxis." The selection among three mainstream technical routes reflects different trade-offs regarding technical thresholds, airworthiness difficulty, manufacturing costs, and operational models. Currently, no single route holds absolute advantages across all indicators; the ultimate winner will necessarily be the solution achieving optimal balance among safety, performance, cost, and commercial viability.

For aircraft manufacturers, the key is clarifying target markets and steadily advancing technical implementation. True competition lies not in advanced configuration design but in whether aircraft can pass airworthiness certification, maintain stable flight, and achieve high-frequency, routine operations. After all, regardless of how advanced the configuration, if flight permits cannot be obtained and large-scale low-altitude travel cannot be realized, it becomes meaningless.