In India, The ePlane Company has published a walkaround of the e200X PT-01, the first full-scale prototype of its electric air taxi. In the video, released on Tuesday 20 October, founder Satya Chakravarthy explains how the aircraft is put together1. The Chennai company, incubated at IIT Madras, unveiled PT-01 in July at a new production facility of more than 60,000 square feet23. The prototype has not flown yet: the first flight tests with a certification-conforming aircraft are planned for April 20274.

What the video shows

The e200X is an eVTOL, an electric aircraft that takes off and lands vertically. It uses a lift plus cruise layout, with dedicated rotors for takeoff and landing and separate propellers for cruise1. Aviation Week reports six lift rotors and four cruise propellers4. The airframe is all carbon fibre, weighs 2.2 tonnes and measures 8 by 11 metres, about half a basketball court, so it can use existing helipads on rooftops and at hospitals12.

It carries one pilot and two passengers, or 200 kg of cargo. ePlane quotes a cruise speed of 160 km/h and a range of around 110 km15. The powertrain runs at 800 volts, which the company says saves wiring weight and allows faster charging2. ePlane's own idea is what it calls Synergistic Lift: in cruise the lift rotors keep turning at reduced power and blow extra air over the wing, which allows a shorter wing and slow flight on short urban hops4. In the video Chakravarthy focuses on the batteries, which ePlane designed in house, and on the independent power paths in the propulsion system1.

Air ambulance first, air taxi second

Although the video presents an air taxi, the air ambulance comes first, carrying a pilot, a paramedic and a patient on a stretcher. The two-passenger taxi follows, and later a four-passenger version4. "Ambulances are fewer than air taxis," Chakravarthy told Aviation Week: fewer aircraft are needed at higher prices, which suits limited early production4.

ePlane says it has commitments for more than 800 aircraft, a large share of them for emergency medical services2. Those agreements are nonbinding and still have to become preorders as certification advances, Aviation Week reports, including one with the Indian hospital group Apollo Hospitals4.

Certification with India's DGCA

In May 2023 ePlane received a Design Organisation Approval from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the first Indian electric aircraft company to do so. Chakravarthy called it "a crucial first step in the aircraft certification process"6. In early 2025 the company said the DGCA had accepted its type certification application for the e200X7. In September 2024 the DGCA had already published guidelines for vertiports8 and baseline airworthiness criteria for vertical takeoff and landing capable aircraft9.

According to Aviation Week, the e200X is in the second of four phases of type certification. Structural and avionics testing is complete and high-voltage testing of the motors and rotors is under way, followed by a final ground test phase with closed-loop flight controls4. The initial flights will be uncrewed5. The schedule has slipped: when it raised money in late 2024, ePlane was aiming for test flights in mid-202510.

Money, partners and production

In November 2024 ePlane raised US$14 million in a round co-led by Speciale Invest and Antares Ventures, with investor Naval Ravikant among the backers10. About US$20 million has been spent up to the first full-scale prototype. The company is seeking US$60 to 70 million to certify the ambulance and an estimated US$160 to 170 million to certify all variants, start limited production and launch operations in five Indian cities4.

At the Farnborough International Airshow in July, ePlane named suppliers: NVIDIA provides the IGX Thor onboard computer, HENSOLDT navigation and situational awareness systems, and Tata Consultancy Services the battery management software and fleet analytics2. A production facility is planned for next year, starting at about 80 aircraft a year4.

What it means for pilots

The e200X is designed to be flown by a pilot, and the first passenger version seats the pilot next to two passengers12. Alongside the aircraft, vertiports, charging, pilot training, simulators and maintenance providers are being developed in India, and the DGCA has already written rules for several of these areas4. After India, ePlane is looking first at the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific, with FAA and EASA validation as a possible later step4. In Europe, aircraft like this fall under EASA's special condition for small VTOL aircraft, in place since July 201911. For more on how India regulates flight training, read India's DGCA guidelines on agreements between flying schools and trainees.