Fri, Nov 22, 2013
Personal Electric Aircraft Making Autonomous Test Flights
The German company e-volo, together with a network of notable partners from the fields of research and industry, is pressing ahead with the development of the technology for the Volocopter during the next few years.
The Volocopter is an electric-powered multi-rotor VTOL aircraft. Think of it as being like a quadcopter UAV on steroids ... with the ability to carry a pilot and a passenger.
According to the e-volo website, a two-year development phase flight testing program in collaboration with the LBA (German Federal Aviation Office) and the DULV (German Ultralight Aircraft Association) is underway. The application for a designation of a specific aeronautical classification of “Volocopter” has also been started. Among other things, autonomous test flights over uninhabited areas for days on end are planned in order to test and demonstrate the reliability of the electronic steering and the diverse safety concepts in an uninterrupted flight.
The maiden flight and first test flights were conducted in the DM-Arena in Karlsruhe, Germany with the prototype of the 2-person VC200 on Sunday, November 17, 2013. A production model based on the prototype will be developed in the coming years, the company says.
With multiple flights lasting several minutes nearly reaching the 70-foot-high ceiling of the arena, including a number of smooth takeoffs and landings, the Volocopter concept exceeded all expectations. “Rich and incredibly quiet sound, absolutely no noticeable vibrations in the flight, convincing structure with a great, new spring strut landing gear, and an extremely calm rotor plane,“ concluded the e-volo team.
(Image provided by e-volo)
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