Successful Maiden Flight of the World’s First Four-Seater Hydrogen-Powered Plane in Shenyang, China

On January 30th, IT Home reported that according to Shenyang Aerospace University, on January 29th, the world’s first prototype of a four-seater hydrogen-powered plane successfully completed its maiden flight at Faku Caohu Airport in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. The project was led by Yang Fengtian, the honorary president of Shenyang Aerospace University, chief scientist of Liaoning General Aviation Research Institute, and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The core components of the RX4HE prototype (120kW) that completed this maiden flight have preliminarily achieved localization, with the engine power reaching 120kW as confirmed by bench testing. The successful test flight indicates that the RX4HE aircraft is ready for operation at general aviation airports.

Xu Xiaoben, the chief test pilot of the Liaoning General Aviation Research Institute’s four-seater hydrogen-powered aircraft, expressed:

“This is the first hydrogen-powered aircraft in our country, and I am very honored. In March last year, I piloted an 80kW validation aircraft, and today, I flew the 120kW prototype. Especially with the prototype, it has abundant power, minimal vibration, and smooth, uninterrupted operation, making it an aircraft with outstanding performance. I am extremely happy for the successful maiden flight, as the first take-off surely carries many uncertainties, but throughout the entire flight, no anomalies were observed. From the flight performance, the aircraft exhibited good performance, the engine operated normally, and the power met the performance requirements. We look forward to future upgrades of the power system to 140kW, further enhancing the aircraft’s performance. The hydrogen-powered engine starts and operates smoothly.”

According to IT Home’s findings, the validation aircraft of this model completed verification test flights at a certain airport in Shenyang in March last year. It is the first general aviation aircraft independently developed in China with a hydrogen internal combustion engine. The validation aircraft is equipped with the first domestically developed 2.0L zero-emission turbocharged direct injection hydrogen internal combustion engine, with a power of 80kW, developed by China FAW Group Corporation based on the “Hongqi” gasoline engine.