Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Chinese business aircraft operator Shenzhen East General Aviation (Heli-Eastern) is partnering with eVTOL aircraft developer EHang to launch urban air mobility services. The companies will work on plans to operate helicopters and EHang’s EH216 two-seat Autonomous Aerial Vehicles (AAV) in airspace cleared for these operations under a pilot scheme developed by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the Shenzhen municipal government.
Heli-Eastern provides flights for a variety of purposes throughout China’s heavily populated Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and has approval for both commercial and private operations. With EHang, it has been conducting&nbsp;demonstration flights from its Shenzhen base with a pair of EH216s and a Bell 206 helicopter to demonstrate how the different aircraft types can safely operate in shared airspace.
According to EHang, the partnership with Heli-Eastern is part of its “100 Air Mobility Routes Initiative,” through which it is seeking to demonstrate the case for using eVTOL aircraft in a variety of applications including passenger flights, cargo deliveries, emergency medical support, and firefighting. The company, which has a manufacturing facility in nearby Yunfu, is trying to demonstrate the safety of scaled-up, low-altitude operations as it works to complete type certification for the EH216 with the CAAC.
The initiative has received official support as being part of a response to the State Council of China’s “Guidelines of the National Comprehensive Transportation Network Plan,” which&nbsp;was approved in February 2021. “We will jointly establish a pilot project for the urban integrated airspace of helicopters and AAVs and the low-altitude flight network in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,” said Heli-Eastern chairman Qi Zhao.

Charles Alcock

Chinese aircraft operator Heli-Eastern is conducting pilot flight operations with an EHang EH216 eVTOL and a Bell 206 helicopter. (Image: EHang)

Heli-Eastern Starts Trial Operations with EHang's EH216 eVTOL in China

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