• 02 May 2021 10:17 PM
• 0

EHang Spreads its Wings in China

After many months of rumors and speculation, Guangzhou, China-based EHang acknowledged in a tweet on March 9, “EHang has been developing long-range electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle for years. We are about to run the test flight of this new product in months, which will have many new breakthrough features. We will release more information in time.” This was reiterated on April 14 with a tweet, “We're pleased to announce that EHang will perform trial flights of a new passenger-grade eVTOL with flight range of more than 300km [186 miles] on May 25. A big step closer of becoming a UAM solution provider. Stay tuned!” Late last year, drawings (such as that shown) began circulating, which allegedly depict this longer-range EHang eVTOL.

Update: EHang announced on May 4 that the aircraft, dubbed the VT30, had made its first flight, but did not release an image. A photo appeared on Chinese social media on April 16 that appear to show the cabin of the VT30.

Meanwhile, the company announced on April 16 that the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has established a type certification team for the company’s EH216 air taxi. The kickoff meeting was held in Guangzhou on April 13–14 with the aim to advance the type certification approval of the EH216. EHang officially submitted the EH216 type certificate application in December 2020 to CAAC, which accepted it the following month.