Today on 13 October 2023 the Chinese regulator CAAC issued the type certificate to EHang EH216-S two-seat eVTOL in Beiijng, China. This is the first type certififcate issued to an eVTOL in the world, as well as the first type certificate issued to a pilotless passenger-carrying aircraft in the world.

The issurance ceremony was held in Beijing today

The director of the airworthness certification department of CAAC, Ms.Yang Zhenmei (left) passed the type certificate to the founder and CEO of EHang, Mr.Hu Huazhi (right)

According to the information released at the ceremony, EH216-S has a maximum design speed of 130km/h, maximum cruising speed of 90km/h, maximum takeoff weight of 620kg and service ceiling of 120m (AGL).

EHang applied for the certification to CAAC in 2020 and CAAC officially accepted the application in Feburary 2021 so it took about two and half years for EHang to obtain this type certificate. According to various sources, this certificate comes with some operational limits and EHang still needs go through some process before commercial operation. Thus many things still remain to be seen and it might be too early to say this is the success of EHang. Instead, this certificate might be just the beginning. Nevertheless the title of the world’s first certified pilotless eVTOL should be a good reason for EHang to celebrate at this moment.