EHang has delivered the first EH216-S electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle to a customer, with the aircraft receiving an airworthiness certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
The aircraft was presented to Guangzhou-based ETON, an aviation technology company associated with Guangzhou government, says US-listed EHang.
The delivery follows the EH216-S’s receipt of a CAAC type certificate in October, a world first for an eVTOL aircraft.
Whereas a CAAC type certificate confirms the design of the aircraft and that it meets all regulations, the airworthiness certificate applies to individual aircraft.
“We are thrilled to receive the world’s first certified passenger-carrying UAV from EHang and are proud of our Guangzhou local enterprise for this groundbreaking achievement,” says Chengjiu Zhou, general manager of ETON’s parent, Guangzhou Development Communications Investment Group, itself an arm of the local government of Guangzhou’s Huangpu district.
“We are very optimistic about our upcoming commercial operations of aerial tourism in Guangzhou and the bright future of our business cooperation with EHang. With EHang’s leading-edge, safer, greener, more efficient, and certified passenger-carrying UAV solutions, as well as robust local government support in infrastructure and investment, we look forward to spearheading the development of the local low-altitude economy.”
The EH216-S can carry two passengers plus luggage, within its 620kg (1,370lb) maximum take-off weight limit, on trips of up to 16nm (30km).
The delivery of the first EH216-S follows EHang’s expansion in the United Arab Emirates, where it recently became a member of the Smart and Autonomous Industries Cluster in Abu Dhabi.
It also signed a partnership with Wings Logistics Hub, a unit of the UAE’s Technology Holding Company under EIH International holding.
Of the Wings Logistics partnership, EHang had this to say: “The aim of this partnership is to collaboratively advance the development of urban air transportation and smart city management in the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa region.”
