On February 17, the EH216 flew with two passengers and no pilot onboard for a trip along the stunningly beautiful coastline of Tanoura Beach in Oita city, under the approval of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (“MLIT”) of Japan.
Earlier in July 2022, EH216 completed Japan's first eVTOL point-to-point demo flight for air mobility in Oita City, Oita Prefecture, making a breakthrough in exploring UAM use cases in Japan. This year, EHang and its partner, MASC, revisited Oita to demonstrate the EH216’s first passenger-carrying autonomous flight within Japan, which is expected to further enhance the awareness and interest of UAM in the local community and accelerate the development of the Japanese UAM industry.
Quotes
Sato Kiichiro, Mayor of Oita, Oita Prefecture, Japan, attended the event and delivered a speech saying, "Last July, EH216 completed its Japan’s first point-to-point trial flight in Oita, receiving overwhelming responses. Today, EH216 takes on the challenge of passenger-carrying flight here, and I am very pleased to witness this moment. I hope that today’s passenger-carrying flight test will accelerate autonomous aerial vehicles to take a further step toward practical use cases, so that this industry full of opportunities could be in full swing."
Kirino Hiroshi, Chairman of the Okayama Kurashiki Mizushima Aero & Space Industry Cluster Study Group (“MASC”), one of the passengers who took a ride with EH216 today, said, "EH216 is a leader in the eVTOL field with extensive experience in passenger-carrying flights. This successful flight test of EH216 in Oita Prefecture has shown us the possibilities of experiencing the beauty and pleasure the skies offer without a pilot. We look forward to EH216's flight tests in more cities, and the future when EH216 can be deployed and applied in Japan."
Xin Fang, Chief Operating Officer of EHang, stated, “Over the past two years, EH216 has achieved one milestone after another in Japan with several rounds of demo and trial flights. This year brought passengers the possibility of riding in the air with this cutting-edge product and technology. All these milestones are inextricably linked to the support and trust of MLIT of Japan, local government departments, and our partners. EHang has also demonstrated the reliability of our AAV products. We will continue working with our partners to promote safe, autonomous, and eco-friendly UAM solutions in Japan so as to benefit more people worldwide with our passenger-grade AAVs.”
About EHang : EHang (Nasdaq: EH) is the world's leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company. Our mission 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.
EH216 JX0176 ( EHang )
Comments | Join community |
My recent patent of the safest aircraft in aviation history because it cannot be stalled and the first silent VTOL aircraft in aviation history and the most efficient VTOL aircraft in history is far superior to any other VTOL aircraft ever made. NASA is in the process of evaluating the patent |
While this is significant, Ehang still has a lot of work to do in mitigating birdstike and ground strike risks not to mention reducing noise if the Ehang 216 is used in its primary role of tourist sightseeing. |
Zero meaningful AV testing and it's a Cuisinart with no prop guards. |
See also |
Urban Air Mobility
EH216 in EHang
Japan