At the CES 2016 exhibition, ehang amazed the world with the concept of an autonomous eight-fluid air taxi. Seven years later, this concept has turned into the world’s first completely certified Air Taxi, allowed for commercial transportation. This was made possible thanks to the simplicity of the design of EHANG EH 216, which now flies at eight coaxically installed pairs of propeller, providing autonomous transportation of two passengers at a distance of 30 km at a speed of about 130 km/h.
Although these characteristics are modest compared to other models, such as the five-seater Joby S4, capable of speeding up to 322 km/h, Ehang EH 216 is ideal for short flights between the roofs of buildings in traffic jams or for short tourist flights. The received certificate also confirms the determination of the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration to be at the forefront of commercial Evtol flights, ahead of the United States and Europe.
It is worth noting that EHANG 216 is certified only in China. It is expected that the American FAA and the European EASA will begin to issue Evtol certificates not earlier than 2024. In addition, Ehang 216 will probably not be certified in other markets in the near future, since it is completely autonomous.
Ehang has already held about 10,000 “Demonstration flights” with passengers. Now, having received a certificate, the company can start commercial operation and scaling its production activities.
The head and founder of Ehang, Huazhi Hu, expressed gratitude to everyone who took part in this project, and emphasized that security is a priority for the company.
This step can give EHANG and China a significant advantage over foreign competitors in the air taxi industry.