EHang 216 Flies a Small Crowd in Vienna

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sky Taxis, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Well, 17 passengers, anyway.  Remember that EHang flew its entire board of directors and executive team on demonstration outings in February 2018.  In a more recent flight, EHang CEO HU Huazhi “commuted” via an EHang 216 (2 passengers, 16 motors and propellers). In April this year, EHang flew apparently happy participants at Vienna’s Generali Arena as part of the 4GameChangers Festival, an international festival of – you guessed it – game changers.  This year’s theme, “Europe Meets Asia,” seemed a mild precursor to the full frontal assault by EHang.  For those not lucky enough to get first-hand experience in the air, displays in the Festival offered virtual and augmented reality demonstrations and ample digitally-based thrills.  Aviation Week reported, “An autonomous, …

China’s First Certified Electric Airplane Ready for Mass Production

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

China has seen Yuneec’s early entry into the electric aircraft field.  The parent company is now making drones and camera gear in China, but its Greenwing International subsidiary in Cable, California appears to be defunct, according to Bill Lofton’s EV Hangar.  Yuneec’s E430 two-seater and e-Spyder ultralight, all flown at the big AirVenture shows, will seemingly not come to market. A craft similar to the E430, the RX1E Ruixiang, is ready to go into mass production, however.  Developed by Shenyang Aerospace University in Shenyang City in China’s Liaoning Province, the long-winged two seater is the first electric aircraft certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Certification was a major accomplishment, according to Yang Fengtian, chief designer of the …