The Austrian city of Linz is set to become the next location in which EHang will evaluate its two-seat 216 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle. The Chinese company announced on August 14 that it plans to start "a trial UAM operation" in the near future.
The trial will start by establishing a test route over uninhabited parts of the city and identifying locations where vertiports could be built in 2021. EHang says it also will be looking to work to win public acceptance for eVTOL use from the local population, in part by defining public service roles for the aircraft.
The project will involve EHang's local subsidiary FACC, which specializes in making aircraft components and systems using composite materials. The Linz city government is supporting the trial under a partnership agreed in 2019.
According to Andreas Perotti, EHang's new chief marketing officer for Europe, the company will test one route in Linz, including an evaluation of the booking system for planned air taxi services, as well as the boarding process and aftermarket services. However, he added that no passengers will actually be carried on the test flights, which will be conducted mainly along the Danube river which runs through the center of the city.
EHang is already conducting extensive operational trials with the 216 aircraft at several locations in China, including its home city of Guangzhou. The company also has approval from aviation authorities in Norway, Canada and Spain to conduct demonstration flights that involve a network of local partners, including prospective distributors for its eVTOL vehicles.
