A Flying Taxi Demo Flight in Bali, Hopes to be the Pioneer

TheIndonesia.id - A flying taxi named "EHang 216", which is an autonomous air vehicle with a capacity of two passengers, officially conducted a demo flight in the airspace of Klungkung Regency, Bali, Friday, November 26, 2021.

"We hope that the EHang 216 can be a pioneer in innovation and implementation of digital-based smart cities and also an efficient mobility solution at an affordable price," said President Director of Prestige Image Motorcars Rudy Salim, Friday.

He said that the EHang 216 will be able to travel to remote areas and can be a solution for land route access so that it can increase productivity and support health in Indonesia because it is safe from pollution. "This EHang 216 flying taxi will later be able to take passengers in urban areas by utilizing the internet network and controlled by pilots on the ground," he said.

In one battery charge, the EHang 216 has the ability to fly as far as 30 kilometers and is able to lift a maximum load of 220 kilograms with a maximum speed of 130 km per hour using electric power.

The Ehang 216, which is currently waiting for regulatory permission to officially fly commercially in Indonesia, has a width of 5.6 meters and a height of 1.7 meters and is included in the Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV) category, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). ).

Rudy Salim explained, the EHang 216 with its 16 propellers has a high level of security and has been tested in more than 40 cities in eight countries.

"The level of safety is much safer than conventional helicopters because it has 16 propellers. If there is an emergency, the first thing to do is the alert system so it won't fly. If it happens in the air even if the propeller doesn't work, even three propellers can still fly. Other security systems i.e. EHang 216 can return to the point of origin and land as soon as possible," he said.

For chartered flights with passengers, Rudy Salim said that his party was still waiting for permits issued by the relevant parties before official operations.

"As soon as the permit is issued, we immediately fly it. Again, it depends on the regulator, we follow the existing regulations. The one we fly with first, once the permit is issued, of course, the Chairman of the Indonesian Motor Association (IMI) Bambang Soesatyo," he said.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of IMI Bambang Soesatyo said that modern transportation modes, namely passenger planes without pilots, are predicted to become a modern mode of transportation that will change lifestyles and can become a millennial lifestyle in the future.

"EHang 216 will become a modern mode of transportation that will help the people of Indonesia a lot. Hopefully, this technology can help and become a new means of generating tourism, medical rescue, the logistics sector, and of course air transportation that is comfortable, safe, and effective," he said.

He added IMI has a vision and mission to encourage the acceleration of electric fuel and electric acceleration which is also used by the EHang 216.

"This is a new challenge for the mode of transportation for passenger aircraft without a pilot. This will become a lifestyle for young people in the future and I believe and believe that our vision and mission is the same as the government and will get support from the government," Bambang who is also the People's Consultative Assembly Speaker.