China's Airborne Jetsons: Flying Taxis Approved for Takeoff
The stuff we only used to see in cartoons is starting to look a lot more real – the Chinese have just green-lit flying taxis to go into full-blown production! That's right, get those futuristic dreams dusted off. I know I know... flying cars? Aren't those things notorious for, you know, not exactly flying? Well, these bad boys are electric, so maybe they took a page out of Tesla's book... or maybe their engineers have been sneaking sips from Elon Musk's special Kool-Aid.
The company behind this futuristic leap is EHang, and their EH216-S looks like something dreamed up while binging on sci-fi films. Imagine a cross between a deluxe helicopter and a giant, overgrown drone. They claim it'll carry passengers without anyone actually piloting the thing. Now, I'm all about cutting down on my commute time, but letting a self-flying machine whisk me off into the sunset? Let's just say I'm happy to embrace good old-fashioned traffic jams and angry honking for a little while longer.
But hey, let's not get cynical, let's talk hard specs. This thing is apparently about 17 feet and 7 inches (5.4 meters) tall and 18 feet and 3 inches (5.6 meters) wide. So, about the size of a fancy SUV, perfect for dodging birds and low-hanging clouds. It's got a whopping 16 electric motors propelling it, cranking out a healthy 220 horsepower. EHang says it'll hit almost 80 mph (130 km/h), but since this thing is going up, not forward, who knows if those numbers even matter.
The real test is range, and the company claims a little over 20 miles (32.1 km) on a full charge. Let's just hope that's enough to get you across town and back before you plummet like a fancy lawn dart.
Last time I wrote about EHang’s flying contraption, I talked about its sky-high price. I mean, the price tag was fitting its lofty dreams - $333,000. It was almost meaningless though, since the production was still a pipe dream. Now, with the green light from the Chinese authorities, EHang got a fresh wind in its sails and with the newly established optimism, the price has grown. If you're feeling brave and have the kind of cash that makes Jeff Bezos blush, get your checkbook ready because one of these futuristic wonders will set you back a cool $410,000 bucks!
EHang has been hyping this thing up worldwide – dazzling crowds in Costa Rica, even partnering up with folks in the UAE. There are videos of a dozen of 'em zipping around like happy bees in China. Don't get me wrong, the tech is undeniably cool. And heck, the future might be vertical. It's the 21st century; weirder things have happened. But for now, I'm sticking with wheels on the ground. I still need to see how these things deal with unexpected turbulence or a distracted pigeon before I trade in my car keys... and my life insurance policy.
On a serious note - I still can’t believe I’m writing about a personal flying contraption, a flying taxi so to speak. It ain’t a flying car, it has no wheels - who cares! We have an actual personal electric flying thingamajig coming to the sky near you. Wow. Yes, it’s not cheap by any means - but when progress was affordable? It’s official - the future has arrived.
