EHang Holdings Limited, the world's leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company, has announced the latest updates of its passenger-grade AAV EH216-S type certification (TC) process.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has officially approved AAV technology platform EHang Holdings' project specific certification plan. At present, various specified review subjects have been confirmed, including performance and flight, structural strength, design and configuration, ground control station, airborne human-computer interaction, totality and continued airworthiness, and activities for demonstration and verification of compliance are being prepared. Furthermore, multiple positive results have been achieved on the specific algorithms based on aerodynamics and test flights for the overload ratio boundary. Based on more than 30,000 safe trial flights by the EH216-S, EHang plans to conduct further supplementary test activities and test flights for verification from October this year.

EHang has established a regular cooperative work mechanism with the EH216-S AAV TC review panel organised by the CAAC after it formally adopted the special conditions for the EH216-S AAV in February 2022. Relevant national institutions, the aviation authority and the aviation industry in China have paid great attention and provided guidance and support to significantly enhance, deepen and accelerate the EH216-S TC process.

The EH216-S is a passenger-grade autonomous eVTOL vehicle. Compared with traditional aircraft, it is innovative and revolutionary in its structure, configurations, operation modes and flight circumstances. Existing standards in the traditional civil aviation field cannot be directly applicable in the EH216-S TC process and new standards need to be formulated with innovations based on current policies, regulations, standards and experience. To date, there hasn't yet been a single case of an autonomous eVTOL aircraft having obtained a type certificate, which would make the EH216-S TC project the world's first of its type.

EHang has been actively preparing for the airworthiness certification and was approved by the CAAC as China's first passenger-grade AAV airworthiness certification pilot enterprise in 2018. In February 2022, the CAAC officially issued the special conditions for the EH216-S AAV, which provide the compliance basis and safety standards. So far, more than 30,000 trial flights have been completed, including passenger-carrying ones and test flights in extreme environments like high altitudes, typhoons, deserts and heavy fog. The accumulated data, experience and safe records have been compiled to support demonstration and verification of compliance, and an appropriate amount of test flight subjects will be further supplemented to accelerate the completion of demonstration and verification of compliance.

Founder, chairman and CEO Huazhi Hu says: "EHang has always been committed to bold innovation, careful analysis and prudent verification, contributing our experience and expertise to formulating relevant industry standards and norms as well as leading the development of the global eVTOL industry. Completing the airworthiness certification process is a necessary and critical step to further validate the product's safety. We are fully confident of obtaining the EH216-S type certificate as we have basically done the most arduous work by now. We will make continued efforts to accelerate all the remaining processes in the upcoming months in order to obtain the EH216-S type certificate as soon as possible.”