Chinese air mobility company EHang has completed three test flights in South Korea to show off the passenger transport, emergency response and air tourism potential of its all-electric two-passenger autonomous aerial vehicle, the EHang 216.
After securing the first Special Certificate of Airworthiness for an autonomous air vehicle issued by the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, EHang set off on a mini flight tour to demonstrate use case scenarios for its Urban Air Mobility solution.
Three locations were selected, all earmarked for the Ministry's plan to commercialize urban air mobility services by 2023-25. The first flight started from the "Manhattan of Seoul" – Yeouido Island – to serve as an air taxi service over a densely populated area of the capital's main financial and investment banking district.
The second test flight demonstrated the emergency response capabilities over Daegu City in the Suseong District, by delivering firefighting and medical equipment. And the final flight was used to show off the EHang 216's prowess for aerial sightseeing by taking in the coastline around Jeju Island.
The two-passenger autonomous air taxi features 16 independent rotors mounted in pairs on eight arms that surround the cabin. It can reach a top speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), cruise at around the 100 km/h mark, and has a per charge flight time of 21 minutes.
The company will now work with municipalities, the Ministry and industry partners to get air taxis flying in South Korea, with Daegu City already confirming that it plans to launch aerial routes in the future, while Juju Island is looking to set aside funding to support the development of urban air mobility operations.
The Korean tour is the latest in a number of flight tests which have seen the company's autonomous air taxis take to the air in the US, Europe and of course China. And with companies like Lilium, Volocopter and others also vying for airspace, it looks like a pretty safe bet that flying passenger pods are going to be a common sight above our cities in the very near future.
Source: EHang
*Please* talk to the designers and ask why (in God’s name!) they decided to put the rotors at knee level rather than a 2 million-times safer 1m above head height! Bad enough that a forced landing may kill you but to survive that only to be sliced’n’diced as you exit...?! As for the poor hapless (and somewhat dim) passer-by who does not appreciate the danger of 8 near-invisible propellers and allows their curiosity (or drunkenness) to get the better of them...?! This thing will never ‘fly’ on this basis alone!!!
Helicopters are worse because you can chop off your hands and arms in an instant with the tailrotor (which happened to someone i know recently with a gazelle fantail which was Shrouded ! )
YET helicopters have been certified for longer than i existed. So all this babble above is just stale popcorn chatter
The Ehang looks GREAT as is and flies equally WELL... Leave the design as is, it works and looks great ! ! !
Emergencies? No problem. Tourism and taxis? Speak up, I can't hear you.