The Economist: world’s first flying taxi ready for takeoff after approval in China

Anyone who really wants to see the vast cityscapes of Guangzhou, a bustling province in southern China, will soon be able to do so from above while sitting in the cabin of a flying taxi

On October 13, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (AACC) awarded it a “type certificate”, a crucial aviation document, to the world’s first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) taxi. And if that doesn’t sound very futuristic, the little two-seater, called EH216-Swas also authorized to fly without a pilot on board.

EHanga Canton company, is the manufacturer of the EH216-S, a vehicle that looks like a scale consumer drone with a passenger bubble mounted on top. Propulsion comes from sixteen small rotors, mounted on the tips of eight arms that fold when the vehicle is not in use, allowing it to be parked in small spaces.

EHang has already set up a factory to produce the aircraft at scale. The company hopes that tourist flights in Guangzhou can begin before the end of the year. There is interest elsewhere as well. On October 18, the Hefei city government in Anhui province announced a $100 million deal with EHang to provide 100 of these devices to offer sightseeing flights and other services, such as deliveries and emergency response. . The company believes its eVTOLs will one day be able to offer taxi rides at a similar price to ground taxis.

Many are being developed around the world eVTOL. According to Robin Riedel, co-director of the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility, they have already received orders worth more than $30 billion. If China, a country very interested in promoting the sector, is the first to certify one could gain valuable operational experience.

The AACC gave its approval after EHang conducted more than 40,000 test flights, including some with volunteer passengers in eighteen cities in China. It also subjected EH216-S to structural analysis and crash tests and tested its ability to continue flying if one of its rotors fails.

Regulators also inspected the wireless network that EHang uses to link its flying taxis to a control center on the ground. This allows reserve pilots to land an aircraft by remote control if there is a problem.

According to EHang, its pilotless eVTOLs will be quieter than helicopters, their closest cousins, and much cheaper to operate, thanks in part to being able to swap an expensive pilot for a paying second passenger. However, performance will be limited, at least at first.

The EH216-S has a range of about 30 kilometers and a speed of up to 130 kilometers per hour. EHang is developing a second version, the VT30, with 300 kilometers of autonomy, although it will require a different certification.

The company believes that eliminating pilots will also lead to greater safety, just as enthusiasts argue that self-driving cars, if they ever become widely used, could be safer than those driven by humans. A computer’s attention never wavers and its reflexes work at the speed of silicon. And in many ways, flying is much easier to automate than driving, as there are fewer obstacles and unexpected situations to navigate.

EHang It also has ambitions outside China. It has conducted demonstration flights in the United States and Europe to obtain type certifications in both markets. According to the company, it hopes that Chinese approval will speed up the process. However, US and European aviation regulators are likely to take a more cautious approach than their Chinese counterparts.

Both have signaled that they will only approve piloted air taxis at first and will only allow autonomous flights after the vehicles have proven safe in human hands. Because most piloted eVTOLs in development are designed with automation in mind, having to build piloted versions increases costs. However, this could encourage more people to use them.

Volocopter and two Californian companies, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation They are EHang’s closest rivals. All three are conducting test flights on various piloted eVTOL designs. For example, Volocopter’s vehicle looks more like a regular helicopter, with a passenger capsule hanging below a circular structure holding eighteen small propellers. The company hopes to start transporting passengers in its two-seater version (with a seat for the pilot) at the Paris Olympic Games, which will open in July 2024.

Furthermore, EHang is not the only one to have taken the autonomous driving route first. Wisk Aero, another California company, has begun testing a pilotless eVTOL as part of the US certification program. The company, which is a subsidiary of Boeing, one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, will also use a ground control center to monitor flights. As Wisk hopes to obtain certification at some point”of this decade”, EHang may have to wait a long time before he can do the same.