DUBAI, UAE, Nov. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Amid the pavilions of the Dubai Airshow, TransFuture Aviation CEO Bai Zhiliang, China’s eVTOL pioneer, presented a bold vision for the next era of flight. With the unveiling of its Honghu fully tilt-rotor eVTOL and a comprehensive roadmap for global urban air mobility, the company positioned itself at the forefront of the emerging low-altitude economy.
TransFuture Aviation CEO Bai Zhiliang
A New Force in the Skies
Founded with the mission to redefine personal and regional air transport, TransFuture Aviation has rapidly emerged as a leader in fully tilt-rotor eVTOL development. Under the leadership of CEO Bai Zhiliang, the company brings together a distinguished team of aviation experts, drawing from both academia and industry.
Bai, a seasoned aerospace innovator, emphasized during his Dubai presentation that “the eVTOL era is not just approaching—it is being built today. More than mere witnesses, we are its architects.”
Supporting him is Zhang Wei, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, who also serves as Director of the MIIT Key Laboratory and oversees the company’s R&D operations.
Building on this leadership and talent base, TransFuture Aviation’s core team brings together individuals with deep roots in China’s leading aviation institutions, including experience at the National Key Laboratory of Aircraft Configuration Design, major aerospace groups such as AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) and Honeywell.
This collective background provides the company with a strong technical foundation in flight control, propulsion, airworthiness, and safety systems, enabling TransFuture to advance rapidly in both research and engineering practice.
From Wright Flyer to Honghu eVTOL
TransFuture’s presentation traced the lineage of aviation from the Wright Flyer’s 1903 triumph to today’s electric vertical takeoff and landing revolution. The company drew historical parallels between the Cornu helicopter of 1907, the Douglas DC-3 that reshaped commercial flight in the 1930s, and the V-22 Osprey, which became the modern symbol of tilt-rotor versatility despite its combustion-related drawbacks.
In the words of CEO Bai, “Each chapter in aviation history – CTOL, jet, helicopter, and now eVTOL – represents humanity’s pursuit of efficiency, safety, and freedom in the air. TransFuture’s journey follows this lineage, but with an eye toward sustainability and accessibility.”
After more than a decade of experimentation across multiple configurations-ranging from compound wing demonstrators to morphing airframes and distributed ducted-fan VTOLs -TransFuture concluded that the fully tilt-rotor configuration offered the most promising path forward. It combines the aerodynamic efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft with the vertical flexibility of helicopters, optimizing performance for both short urban hops and regional missions.
TransFuture’s research into Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) began in 2017, marking it among the earliest global adopters of this critical enabling technology for eVTOLs. DEP allows thrust to be distributed across multiple smaller electric motors, significantly enhancing redundancy and safety while reducing mechanical complexity.
In a detailed technical overview, Bai explained how DEP “fundamentally redefines aircraft architecture, enabling safer vertical flight and smoother transition to cruise, while offering unprecedented control authority.”
The fully tilt-rotor design represents the company’s answer to the long-standing challenges of VTOL: balancing efficiency, safety, and noise reduction. Unlike hybrid or partial-tilt systems, TransFuture’s solution achieves seamless transition flight and optimized lift-to-drag performance.
TransFuture’s aerodynamic breakthroughs are informed by Lattice Boltzmann simulations, a cutting-edge computational approach that models complex airflow with exceptional accuracy. Complementing this technology is the company’s use of biomimicry, drawing direct inspiration from bird flight. Just as birds tilt their wings to maneuver gracefully, TransFuture’s eVTOL uses dynamically adaptive wing structures to maximize stability and efficiency across flight regimes.
“Nature has been refining flight for millions of years,” noted Bai. “Our task is to learn from it and adapt those principles through advanced materials, electric propulsion, and digital simulation.”
From Demonstrator to Reality
The culmination of TransFuture’s research arrived in December 2024, when the company’s Honghu eVTOL full-scale engineering prototype completed its maiden flight in Changsha. It stands as a technological milestone -the world’s second fully tilt-rotor eVTOL engineering prototype after Joby’s JAS4-1, and the first of its kind in China.The event marked a significant milestone -not only for TransFuture, but also for China’s burgeoning eVTOL sector.
The Honghu’s design showcases the maturity of TransFuture’s fully tilt-rotor concept. With an advanced DEP system, streamlined fuselage, and intelligent flight control algorithms, the prototype validated years of theoretical and experimental progress.
The company’s progress continued in September 2025, when the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) officially accepted TransFuture’s Type Certification (TC) application for the Honghu eVTOL and its core subsystems. The Honghu is also China’s first fully tilt-rotor eVTOL to have its TC application formally accepted, setting a regulatory precedent and establishing a new benchmark for future designs.
Since 2023, TransFuture Aviation has completed four rounds of financing totaling several hundred million RMB, reflecting strong investor confidence in its technology, vision, and commercial potential. Together with its verified DEP system, intelligent flight control algorithms, and streamlined aerodynamic design, the Honghu program has validated TransFuture’s role as a genuine pioneer in China’s next generation of vertical flight.
Urban Air Mobility: Dubai as the Future Testbed
While TransFuture’s roots are in China, the company’s ambitions are unmistakably global. The presentation highlighted Dubai as a key potential market for early eVTOL adoption -thanks to its aviation-friendly regulatory environment and appetite for innovation.
The TransFuture’s analysis of regional mobility scenarios showcased the transformative efficiency of eVTOLs:
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Target Cities
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Direct Distance
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Time by
Drive
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Time by eVTOL
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Ajman
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35 km
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35 mins
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10 mins
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Umm Al Quwain
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60 km
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50 mins
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15 mins
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Abu Dhabi
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140 km
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100 mins
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35 mins
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These figures underline the ability of eVTOLs to cut short- to medium-distance travel times by up to 70%, while maintaining operating costs comparable to driving.
One particularly compelling case study is aerial tourism over Palm Jumeirah, where existing helicopter services currently generate approximately AED 200 million annually from 100,000 passengers. TransFuture projects that with widespread eVTOL deployment, annual attendance could exceed 1 million passengers, pushing revenues to AED 2 billion. This growth would not only boost tourism income but also stimulate high-tech job creation and infrastructure investment.
Bai envisions Dubai‘s skyline becoming “a showcase of safe, serene, and swift aerial mobility,” where residents and tourists alike could experience a seamless fusion of technology, luxury, and sustainability.
Global Ambition: Building the Low-Altitude Economy Together
In its closing message, TransFuture Aviation underscored a call for international collaboration. As one of China’s leading eVTOL developers, the company aims to lead the nation’s entry into the global advanced air mobility (AAM) market while partnering with regulators, infrastructure providers, and operators worldwide.
“The eVTOL revolution is a global endeavor,” Bai stated. “We extend our hand to visionary partners who share our commitment to safety, sustainability, and shared prosperity in the skies.”
The company’s broader mission is to help unlock the low-altitude economy—an emerging domain encompassing aerial logistics, passenger transport, and emergency response operations. TransFuture sees this as a trillion-dollar opportunity that will redefine both airspace usage and urban infrastructure.
With their proven fully tilt-rotor design, validated DEP systems, and a growing portfolio of research partnerships, TransFuture positions itself as a key architect of this transformation.
TransFuture’s Dubai Airshow presentation was more than a showcase—it was a statement of intent. By marrying China’s deep aerospace expertise with a globally minded strategy, the company has set its sights on becoming a major force in the eVTOL race, alongside established players from the U.S. and Europe.
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“We are not just building aircraft,” CEO Bai concluded. “We are building a new dimension of mobility—one that brings flight closer to everyday life.”
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During the Airshow, TransFuture CEO Bai Zhiliang held a cordial conversation with Joby Aviation Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt, one of the world’s most influential figures in the eVTOL sector. JoeBen expressed high admiration for TransFuture’s pioneering achievements as China’s leading fully tilt-rotor eVTOL developer, noting that the company’s technological path aligns closely with global advanced trends. Both leaders shared the view that the global eVTOL community is entering a decisive decade and expressed a mutual desire to jointly shape the future of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) to make human transportation more efficient, sustainable, and accessible. Bai also engaged in a brief but insightful technical discussion with Professor Jordan Karatzas of MIT, a senior advisor to Electra, the U.S. company focused on hybrid-electric eSTOL aircraft. The dialogue touched on the comparative strengths of tilt-rotor architectures and short takeoff and landing (STOL) designs—reinforcing the importance of cross-disciplinary research in advancing next-generation regional aviation.
