Flying taxi carries first passenger; pilotless travel

Chinese eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle maker EHang took its first passenger for a demonstration ride in Abu Dhabi.

The EH216-S pilotless vehicle took off from the Emirates Falcons Aviation Club with Mohamed Al Dhaheri, board member of Multi Level Group (MLG) and EHang strategic partner, as the sole passenger.

The passenger flight followed demonstrations of the electric aerial vehicle (EAV) conducted without passengers at the DriftX mobility expo in Abu Dhabi.

“After securing the approval for passenger-carrying demo flights and conducting the debut flight, we will actively foster collaboration and communication between the GCAA and the Civil Aviation Administration of China to expedite the progress towards commercial flights of our pilotless aircraft in the UAE, which will become a milestone in the advancement of Abu Dhabi and the global air mobility sector,” said Huazhi Hu, founder, CEO and chairman of EHang. 

The EAV maker joined the Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industries Cluster in Abu Dhabi and formed a partnership with Wings Logistics Hub, a passenger eVTOL subsidiary of Technology Holding Company.

EHang also is collaborating with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) for EAV development in the UAE.

The EAV maker recently signed a deal with fast battery charging company Greater Bay Technology (GBT) to jointly develop very high-speed battery charging systems for flying vehicles.

EHang and GBT plan to jointly develop eVTOL power cells, batteries, packs, charging piles and energy storage systems that comply with the airworthiness standards of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The stated goal is to create the world’s first Ultra-Fast Charging (UFC) system for EHang’s EAV.

EAV battery charging times are expected to take fewer than 10 minutes to charge from 30% to 80%, according to EHang.

At the DriftX mobility event in Abu Dhabi last month, EHang signed a deal with ADIO to further drive eVTOL development in the UAE region.

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