Recently, EHang conducted the first demonstration flight of the EH216 air taxi in Spain. EHang has been preparing for this event since October last year. Next, the stage of trial operation of the devices by the Spanish police will begin, which has shown maximum interest in compact aircraft.

Europeans are still wary of the “new air mobility” vehicles, as the direction of urban air taxis is often called. But the activity of EHang in Southeast Asia is already bearing fruit. Companies from Japan (for 50 air taxis), Malaysia (for 60) and Indonesia (for 100) have already placed pre-orders for two-seater EH216 vehicles.

Over the past two years, demonstration flights of EHang vehicles have taken place in many major cities in this region and have been successful. The complex mountain landscape, rugged coastline and many islands require special transportation if you need to quickly move from one place to another. A similar landscape is characteristic of Spain, so the EHang air taxi will also be well suited to solve the problems of air mobility in this European region. By the way, the Austrian authorities also consider this type of transport to be promising in their mountainous regions.

The EH216-S can carry up to 260 kg of payload. A full charge of batteries is enough for 20 minutes of flight and for overcoming up to 35 km at speeds up to 130 km/h. The air taxi can be controlled both remotely and using a touch screen on a tablet installed in the cab. All maneuvers are worked out by the autopilot so that the passenger does not make a fatal mistake.

The Spanish police intend to work out scenarios for using air taxis for missions with landing in limited conditions, where conventional aircraft cannot physically reach. They are also attracted by the possibility of digital transformation, which lies in the possibility of remote control of missions.