LONDON – Chinese autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) manufacturer EHang Holdings Limited has announced the latest updates of its passenger-grade AAV EH216-S eVTOL aircraft, as it undergoes the type certification process.
The Project Specific Certification Plan has now been officially approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (“CAAC”).
Various specified review subjects have been confirmed, including performance and flight, structural strength, design and configuration, ground control station, airborne human-computer interaction, and continued airworthiness. Activities for demonstration and verification of compliance are now being prepared.
Based on more than 30,000 safe trial flights of EH216-S that have been accomplished, EHang plans to conduct further supplementary test activities and test flights for verification from October this year.
About the EH216-S
The EH216-S is a passenger-grade autonomous electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle. Compared with traditional aircraft, EH216-S is innovative and revolutionary in its structure, configurations, operation modes and flight circumstances.
Because the aircraft does not conform to traditional civil aviation standards, a set of new standards needs to be formulated for the EEV.
To date, there hasn’t yet been any case of an autonomous eVTOL aircraft having obtained the Type Certificate in the world, which would make the EH216-S Type Certification project the world’s first of its type.
In February 2022, the CAAC officially issued the Special Conditions for the EH216-S AAV, which provides the compliance basis and safety standards for EH216-S AAVs.
So far, EH216-S AAVs have completed more than 30,000 trial flights including passenger-carrying flights and tests in extreme environments like high altitudes, typhoons, deserts and heavy fog.
The accumulated data, experience and safety records have been compiled to support demonstration and verification of compliance. Further test flights are now to be carried out to accelerate the completion of demonstration and verification of compliance.
EHang management statement
Huazhi Hu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of EHang, commented, “EHang has always been committed to bold innovation, careful analysis and prudent verification, and contributing our experience and expertise to formulating relevant industry standards and norms, as well as leading the development of the global eVTOL industry.”
“Completing the airworthiness certification process is a necessary and critical step to further validate the product safety. We are fully confident to obtain the EH216-S Type Certificate as we have basically done the most arduous work by now. We will make continued efforts to accelerate all the remaining processes in the upcoming months in order to obtain the EH216-S Type Certificate as soon as possible.”
About EHang
EHang is a world leading leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company. Their stated objective is to make safe, autonomous, and eco-friendly air mobility accessible to everyone.
EHang provides customers in various industries with AAV products and commercial solutions: air mobility (including passenger transportation and logistics), smart city management, and aerial media solutions.
As the forerunner of cutting-edge AAV technologies and commercial solutions in the global Urban Air Mobility (UAM) industry, EHang continues to explore the boundaries of the sky to make flying technologies benefit our life in smart cities.
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