Chinese air mobility company EHang is on a mission to get its autonomous air taxis into the air around the globe. After flying into Spain earlier this year, the air taxi firm has now been granted its first trial flight permit in the European Union – but it's not in Seville.
Since first showing its multi-rotor air taxi actually carrying passengers back in early 2018, EHang has been doubling down on efforts to get its autonomous aerial vehicles into skies around the world.
In addition to committing to building a tourism terminal for its air taxi service in the City of Hezhou in Guangxi Province, and launching an air tourism project at the LN Garden Hotel in Nansha, test flights have been undertaken in the US, South Korea and Dubai.
Now the Civil Aviation Authority of Austria has given the green light for flight tests to take place, a first for the EU but not the first for the continent of Europe, as EHang secured an operational flight permit for long-term testing in Norway back in March.
This latest milestone follows a successful test flight of the two-passenger 216 model last month, which took to the air above St. Martin im Innkreis, flew for several minutes and the landed safely – despite the severe cold and high wind speed.
The EHang 216 features 16 independent rotors mounted in pairs on eight arms circling the cabin, can reach speeds of 130 km/h (80 mph) and has a per charge flight time of 21 minutes.
The Austrian flight permit, obtained together with strategic partner FACC AG, will now allow the company to demonstrate its technology to regulators, customers and partners.
Source: EHang
