Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), flew at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) AirVenture 2021 in Wisconsin. The Volocopter 2X flight was the first ever public crewed test flight of a fully electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi in the US. This successful flight marks a key milestone in Volocopter’s plan to raise awareness of air taxis among populations around the globe and is critical to the long-term success of delivering advanced air mobility (AAM) and urban air mobility (UAM) solutions.
The crewed Volocopter 2X took off at 2:45 PM CST for a 4-minute flight at ~160 ft and a top speed of 18 mph over Wittman Regional Airport as part of EAA’s AirVenture aviation celebration. Event attendees were able to watch the Volocopter 2X fly and take a seat in the VoloCity model at Volocopter’s booth to experience these aircraft.
“Volocopter successfully conducting the first US public manned test flight of an eVTOL company in the US is a milestone for the industry and a reminder that our commercial launch is fast approaching. We can talk about our lead in certification, low noise emissions, and global partnerships all we want, but nothing shows just how close we are to launch UAM as a service as does flying an air taxi in front of crowds and inviting people to sit in our aircraft. Air taxis are coming, and we are working to bring electric flights to cities around the globe in the next two to three years,” says Florian Reuter, Volocopter CEO.
“Oshkosh is a haven for enthusiasts and experts to embrace the pioneering spirit of aviation, and today’s Volocopter flight is one for the history books. This is the spirit of Oshkosh giving our visitors the chance to experience real pioneers, who will change aviation for good, right here,” says Rick Larsen, EAA Vice President of Communities and Member Programming.
Volocopter is the only eVTOL developer with a family of electric aircraft for passengers and goods. This aircraft family includes aircraft for both long and short distances within cities and beyond (VoloCity and VoloConnect air taxis and VoloDrone heavy-lift drone). Volocopter’s holistic approach to launching UAM services entails partnering with global industry leaders to offer the whole operating UAM ecosystem, including infrastructure and the digital backbone (VoloPort and VoloIQ) to integrate services into existing transport systems in cities.
In addition to a full-service solution, Volocopter is the first and only eVTOL developer to hold Design Organisation Approval and Production Organisation Approval, two strategic certification approvals from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to design and produce aircraft in-house. Once certified for commercial launch in Europe, Volocopter is positioned for concurrent type certification approvals in the US from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), having applied earlier this year, and the civil aviation authority in Singapore (CAAS).
Volocopter is an expert in urban air mobility (UAM), a subcategory of AAM. While the term AAM covers the aviation transportation system for people and goods with highly automated aircraft, UAM focuses specifically on how these advanced aircraft can thrive in and around cities. The company has ten years of experience, over 1,000 test flights, and a track record of public flights in Paris (2021), Singapore (2019), Helsinki (2019), Dubai (2017).
Pictures and footage of the historic flight will be available at 5 PM CST in the Media Hub: https://mediahub-volocopter.pixxio.media/collection/46.
About Volocopter
Volocopter is building the world’s first sustainable and scalable urban air mobility business to bring affordable air taxi services for goods and people to megacities worldwide. Volocopter leads and cooperates with partners in infrastructure, operations, and air traffic management to build the ecosystem necessary to “Bring Urban Air Mobility to Life.” Volocopter has 400 employees in offices in Bruchsal, Munich, and Singapore. The company has raised a total of €322 million in equity form investors including Daimler, Geely, DB Schenker, BlackRock, and Intel Capital amongst others. www.volocopter.com
