EHang, China’s autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company, has unveiled its new type of electric passenger-grade AAV “VT-30”, the first in EHang’s product suite that is designed for long-distance inter-city transportation.
EHang’s two-seater looks tiny and lightweight and is designed as a safe, convenient, efficient, eco-friendly, and intelligent air mobility solution for inter-city travel.
This time EHang uses a hybrid design with a pair of fixed wings. The EHang VT-30 has a streamlined fuselage with a combined lifting rudder surface at the tail. It is equipped with eight propellers on both sides and has a propelling propeller at the rear, which is designed to achieve a maximum balance of hybrid lift and push.
This design enables VT-30 to enjoy the advantage of both vertical and taxi take-off/landing modes while satisfying the need for longer distance and flight time. Unlike conventional fixed-wing aircrafts, it does not require a runway for take-off and landing. In addition, the triple-wire fly-by-wire control system can be flexibly changed to multiple modes, providing a much higher level of safety for the aircraft.
The VT-30 is designed to travel a distance of up to 300 km (186 miles) on a single charge with a flight time of up to 100 minutes. The company hasn’t announced the top speed or cruise speed, but you can expect it to be significantly quicker than the EH216.
The VT-30 boasts the advantages of environmental friendliness, no emissions, and low noise and is completely in line with EHang’s green travel principle. Compared to the traditional intercity mode of transportation, the VT-30 is expected to provide a more efficient, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive solution to urban residents, as well as expand the capacity of existing UAM services.
The aircraft has already conducted vertical take-off and landing, power system, and other tests. EHang will continue to conduct various tests and optimizations under different environmental conditions while continuously improving AAV safety and stability.
“Our passenger-grade AAV EH216 is already fully equipped to travel in the cities with its lightweight and streamlined structure, and the launch of the VT-30 provides a powerful complement to the inter-city air traffic network by meeting needs for covering longer distance,” said Mr. Huazhi Hu, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of EHang, “Moving forward, these two product series will be used as core development for a service-oriented operations strategy to improve the safety, duration, and capacity for carrying both passengers and goods. We will work continuously to obtain regulatory certification for our various AAV products, including the VT-30, and provide more convenient and efficient public urban air mobility operational services.“
