Nerves, waiver, screaming, lift-off, joy: a two-minute test ride in a passenger drone from China’s Ehang

Futurists have been promising us flying cars for quite some time and who can forget the imagery from movies like Blade Runner and The Fifth Element?

Those dreams are now closer to reality though, thanks to Guangzhou-based Ehang, which describes itself as the world's first electric passenger-grade autonomous aerial vehicle maker.

Ehang’s mission statement is to “Let humankind fly freely like a bird” and its vehicles are already in use in China for aerial cinematography, photography and survey missions.

When offered the opportunity to take a test flight, I jumped at the chance, overcome with a mixture of emotions including fear, excitement, anxiety and as a Chinese person with a passion for technology – pride.

Ehang’s test flight centre is based in a former national park in this southern corner of China, filled with greenery, trees and a beautiful lake, whose blue waters shimmered in the heat of the afternoon sun.