Chinese eVTOL Flies in Fukushima

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — China’s EHang 216 has become the first eVTOL (flying car) to conduct an outdoor test flight in eastern Japan.

This the first flying car tests to receive official Japan government permission for outdoor flights in the region. The test took place on Monday at the Fukushima Robot Test Field in Namie town.

“I hope we can create a society where the problems of local people can be solved by utilizing such new technology,” said Hiroshi Sakanoue, secretary-general of the Mizushima Aero & Space Industry Cluster Study Group (MASC), which is EHang’s Japanese partner.

The EHang 216 is a two-seater with a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour. It can fly for about 25 minutes.

The aircraft is autonomous without any piloting gear. The flight route was sent from a computer on the ground. No one was aboard during the test flight.

On this occasion, high winds delayed the test for a few hours, but the flight was ultimately conducted safely and successfully at an altitude of about 25 meters. It traveled a distance of only about 300 meters during the test, taking about four minutes.

The first official outdoor eVTOL test flight in Japan was conducted by the same team in Kurashiki city, Okayama Prefecture, on June 4.

The EHang 216 is expected to sell in Japan for about ¥30 million (US$264,000) per unit.

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