ePlane Company Opens 60,000 Sq Ft Aircraft Facility at IIT Madras Discovery Campus
The ePlane Company has opened a 60,000 sq ft integrated prototyping and testing facility at the IIT Madras Discovery Campus in Thaiyur, marking its shift from lab-scale research to full-scale aircraft production and validation.
The new facility will support the development of its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the e200X, as the company moves towards certification and commercial launch. The plant brings together design, prototyping, subsystem integration and testing under one roof. It houses composite fabrication, electric powertrain assembly, avionics testing and a dedicated Ground Test Vehicle setup for subsystem validation and full-scale development.
The company said the facility will enable key milestones such as tethered hover testing as it works towards Type Certification with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. It is also coordinating with the regulator on certification and flight-testing processes for eVTOL aircraft in India.
The e200X, designed for urban operations, has a compact 8m x 10m footprint, which the company claims is among the smallest in its category. It is being developed for rooftop-to-rooftop mobility in dense cities.
The company plans to begin commercial operations with air ambulance services to reduce emergency medical transport time. Founder and Technical Lead Satya Chakravarthy said the facility reflects the vision of making flying as common and affordable as taking a taxi.
The ePlane Company was incubated at IIT Madras and operates from the institute’s Discovery Campus.
