EHang conducts first U.S. trial flight of autonomous aerial vehicle in North Carolina

January 8, 2020 | AUVSI News

As part of the North Carolina Transportation Summit, EHang conducted its first-ever U.S. trial flight of the EHang 216, which is the company’s two-seater passenger-grade autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV).

Conducted on Tuesday, Jan. 7, the trial flight was the first time that the EHang 216 has received flight approval from the FAA. The trial flight was a non-passenger flight, but EHang says that it is working with the FAA to secure approval for a passenger trial flight of the EHang 216 “in the near future.”

“We are proud to have the first autonomous aerial vehicle flying in North America, in North Carolina,” says North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.

“We want North Carolina to be on the cutting edge of this technology and we’re proud to have EHang here to show and demonstrate to us what can be done with this technology.”

Thus far, EHang has safely conducted more than two thousand trial flights across the world, including in China. As part of EHang’s joint initiative with the government of Guangzhou, China to develop Guangzhou to be EHang’s first urban air mobility (UAM) pilot city, two EHang 216 AAVs completed simultaneous trial flights of their commercial sightseeing applications in Guangzhou late last year. EHang says that the flights will allow the company to test flight routes and vertiports to implement the initiative.

EHang notes that it is the first UAM company to realize commercialization for its passenger-grade AAVs, as the company has delivered 38 units to customers as of Dec. 5, 2019.

“Our mission is to make safe, autonomous, and eco-friendly air mobility accessible to everyone and this trial flight represents a significant step towards bringing our urban air mobility solutions to the U.S. market,” says EHang founder, chairman, and CEO Huazhi Hu.

“Pilotless air taxis have the power to transform everyday life in urban areas since they can lessen pollution, expedite emergency services, and save individuals and businesses time and money through shorter travel times.”