Drone carries up to 150 liters of foam and six extinguisher bombs
Valuable New Application of EHang 216 AAV. (EHang, YouTube)
High-Rise Ops
CHINA – China’s EHang air mobility company looks at proving the versatility of its drone platform with the launch of a firefighting version of its two-person multi-rotor flying pod.
New Atlas reports that EHang secured approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China to use its air taxis for heavy lift logistics.
The EHang 216 puts that capability to good use by carrying up to 150 liters of foam and six extinguisher projectiles per trip to high-rise fires within a three-mile radius of its home station.
The 216F uses a camera to locate the fire, hovers in position and uses a laser guidance system to launch a window breaker, followed by extinguisher device, and then follows up with an application of foam.
The 216F has a maximum flight altitude of 600 meters (1,968 feet).
No performance specs have been released for this version, however the passenger 216 version can reach a top speed of 130 km/h (80 mph) and has a maximum flight time of 21 minutes.
A group of firefighting AAVs could be remotely dispatched as a first response to a high-rise fire.
