China's Flying Taxis Are Flying

 TCab E20 eVTOL Is Flying Regularly

                                   

                         Source:  TCab Tech & EHang

EHang Is Doing Autonomous Demonstration Flights with Passengers Regularly

China is becoming a big leader in the global race to deploy flying taxis.  Flying taxi company EHang, based in Guangzhou, China, has been doing a series of successful autonomous flights with passengers onboard. It uses 4G & 5G, high speed wireless transmission to communicate with its command-and-control center for remote control of the aircraft and real-time transmission of flight data. The EHang eVTOL is expected to win full flight certification any day.  Meanwhile, a second company Shanghai-based TCab Tech is making tremendous progress with its E20 eVTOL air taxi, which is piloted and carries 4 passengers. Their 50% scale prototype has successfully made numerous flights demonstrating the effectiveness of the design to takeoff, hover and transition to winged cruise flying.  TCab is short for Time Cab.  The company expects to use AI to help their aircraft navigate and fly complex urban airspace.  

Tech Specs on TCab

TCab's E20 is an all-electric VTOL aircraft.  It has 6 electric motors, powered by batteries.  It flies on 8 propellers:  4 tilt propellers for forward flight and transition, and 2, double stacked fixed propellers for vertical takeoffs and landings. Top speed for the vehicle is 162 mph.  The range on a charge is 125 miles.  These are very decent numbers but at the moment they are outdone by California's Joby Aviation S4 that has a top speed of 205 mph and a range of 150 miles.  TCab estimates the cost to purchase the E20 will be in the range of $500,000 to $750,000.

China's Future of Air Taxi Mobility

China is clearly a growing leader in the global push for air taxi service.  The TCab, along with EHang, are among China's most advanced eVTOL companies.  TCab has the rare distinction of making tremendous progress on its E20 that has, what is called, a vectored thrust design, along with "variable collective pitch" which means the tilting props can vary the pitch of their five blades.  TCab expects its first commercial flights for tourists and city commuters will start in 2024. EHang could start on any day in the very near future.  These are two companies to watch as the race for global dominance in flying taxis heats up.