Volocopter

Volocopter GmbH (formerly called E-Volo GmbH) is a German aircraft manufacturer based in Bruchsal (previously based in Karlsruhe) and founded by Alexander Zosel and Stephan Wolf. The company specializes in the design of electric multirotor helicopters in the form of personal air vehicles, designed for air taxi use.[1][2]

Volocopter GmbH
TypePrivately held company
IndustryAerospace
FounderAlexander Zosel and Stephan Wolf
Headquarters
Bruchsal
,
Germany
Key people
CEO: Florian Reuter, Chairman: Stefan Klocke
ProductsElectric helicopters
Websitewww.volocopter.com

The CEO is Florian Reuter and chairman Stefan Klocke.[2]

History

The company flew the Volocopter VC1 and Volocopter VC2 technology demonstrators, followed by the two-seat Volocopter VC200 prototype. The VC1 was first flown on 21 October 2011.[1][2]

Volocopter VC1, the first crewed electric multirotor
Volocopter VC2
Volocopter 2X
VoloCity

The two-seat project that became the Volocopter 2X started in 2013, evolved from early single-seat Volocopter VC2 prototype flown in 2011. The two seat prototype was designated as the VC-200 and the derived production model the 2X.[3][4]

An on-line fundraising effort in 2013 on the Seedmatch website raised €500,000 in 2 hours and 35 minutes, setting a new European Union record. The money was used to build the VC200 prototype.[5]

The company received investments from a number of organizations including from Daimler AG, totalling €25M in 2017, to start 2X production. The aircraft entered serial production in April 2018 and will be built under contract by the German sailplane manufacturer DG Flugzeugbau.[6][7]

On 9 September 2019, Geely, which is also the parent company of Volvo Cars, Terrafugia and Lotus Cars, led a round of funding that raised $55 million in private investments for Volocopter.[8]

On 21 October 2019, Volocopter unveiled its VoloPort, as "the world’s first flying taxi station", at Marina Bay, Singapore. The VeloPort was then dismantled, to be moved for redeployment at subsequent launches.[9] In September 2020, Volocopter started flying pre-sales promotional trips for Volocity, the company's prospective electric air taxi service.[10]

In January 2021, the company confirmed that the ADAC had reserved two of its VoloCity aircraft for operational testing in 2023.[11]

Also in January 2021, the company announced that the FAA had accepted its application to concurrently validate the EASA type certification it expects secure within the next three years. In the same announcement, the company claimed it was exploring launching Volocity within the United States to provide intra-city air taxi services in major metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.[12]

Aircraft

Summary of aircraft built by Volocopter:

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References
  1. Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 206. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ISSN 1368-485X
  2. Volocopter GmbH. "Volocopter - Company". www.volocopter.com. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  3. "Volocopter Two-Seater In Development". AVweb. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  4. "E-Volo, Closer To Flying Car Functionality? (With Video)". AVweb. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  5. "Volocopter Fund Drive Breaks Records". AVweb. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  6. "Volocopter Starts Serial Production". AVweb. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  7. "Volocopter Draws 25 Million Euro Investment". AVweb. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  8. "Geely invests in flying car startup". Bloomberg. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  9. Ong, Alexis (21 November 2019). "The flying taxi future is coming, but it's elitist and underwhelming". The Verge. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  10. "Volocopter kicks off pre-sales for its first air taxi flights — with a wait time of 2-3 years". TechCrunch. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  11. "ADAC Luftrettung Reserves Two Volocopter Multicopters". UASweekly.com. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  12. Alcock, Charles. "Volocopter Moves To Enter U.S. eVTOL Air Taxi Market". Aviation International News. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  13. "Volocopter air taxi flies over Singapore's Marina Bay". press.volocopter.com. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
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