EHang completes eVTOL flight testing, preps for type certification

In an update from CW’s last progress report in October 2022, EHang (Guangzhou, China) has successfully all of the planned tests and flights for the EH216-S unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the last phase of demonstration and verification of compliance, and also completed the definitive TC Flight Test mandated by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). This is the last milestone before obtaining type certificate, which the company expects soon.

CAAC officially accepted the EH216-S type certification application in January 2021. Over the last 30 months, EHang says it has sufficiently proved that EH216-S meets the safety standards and airworthiness requirements by the CAAC, through scientific approaches, multi-angle demonstrations, rigorous testing and continuous optimizations.

This is further demonstrated by the conducting of more than 9,300 successful low-altitude tourism flight trials in 20 locations across 18 cities in China. During this process, a professional and well-trained AAV operation team have been cultivated with a digital platform developed for urban air mobility (UAM) operation management and services, thus accumulating multifaceted, feasible and replicable trial operation experience.

According to Huazhi Hu, founder, chairman and CEO of EHang, “We’ve made remarkable progress in our pursuit of long-term growth. I would like to express my gratitude to the CAAC’s officials and the review team as well as the company’s airworthiness certification team for their unwavering efforts and persevering spirits. It is their professionalism, exceptional technological expertise and collaborations that have led us to our impressive achievement today. I believe the remaining procedures will be finished very soon before the official authorization of the type certificate. It will pave the way for our commercial operations in the next stage.”

The two-seat EH216-S unmanned aircraft system for commercial operations is designed to transport passengers at low altitudes.

For related information, read “EHang reveals long-range composite autonomous aerial vehicle, and “EHang commences Yunfu production facility operations.”