While the powerful Western countries were stuck in the development of technologically complex and large air taxis, China continued the tradition of bicycle rickshaws and created the simplest air transportation for two passengers. And it worked! The Celestial Empire will go down in history as the country where the services of air transport of passengers by plane were implemented for the first time, with a significant difference from the rest of the world.

China’s eHang company announced that it has met all regulatory requirements for type certification for the manufacture and operation of the EH216-S two-seater air taxi.

“We are pleased to announce that we have successfully completed all the tests planned for the type certification of the EH216-S, – Huazi Hu, founder and CEO of eHang, said in a press release. — This achievement marks an unprecedented milestone in the global eVTOL industry [електрольотів з вертикальними зльотом і посадкою]It evolves by emphasizing our unwavering commitment to business and innovative advantages.”

Aerotaxi EH216-S performs an autonomous flight along a certain route. The remote operator monitors the machine’s movement and can take control if necessary. Passengers can only observe the surroundings while sitting in the aerotaxi cabin. The regulator’s relaxed rules allowed the eHang company to make more than 10,000 demonstration flights with people on board long before it received the certification (it hasn’t been issued yet, and it took and will take much longer than planned).

Structurally, the EH216-S aerotaxi is a simple optocopter scheme with no configuration changes during flight. A reliable and easy-to-use design compared to rotary rotor schemes designed by western developers. Therefore, the EH216-S does not fly very far – a maximum of 35 km; this is ten times less than promised, for example, for Archer Aviation’s rotary rotor and hull design air taxi. But when will they still be – Archer aerotaxi! And the Chinese air rickshaw is here! Besides China, it is ready to conquer the skies in other Southeast Asian countries where the coastline is cut off and there are many islands. Meanwhile, Spain and Austria are also looking at the EH216-S. It is also very, very suitable for flights in mountainous terrain.

The maximum payload of the EH216-S reaches 220 kg and can carry it at speeds of up to 135 km/h. For long-haul flights, the company is testing another device: the VT-30, which can fly 300 km and stay in the air for up to 100 minutes (the EH216-S can stay in the air for up to 20 minutes). But that’s another story.