I wrote 2 previous posts about UBER Elevate; taking to the sky and ENHANG 184 about innovation in electrical, aerial personal transport.
Today I am writing about the VOLOCOPTER which is a, two seat, electric powered aircraft, that can be flown manually, by use of a joystick or it can fly autonomously!! This aircraft is manufactured in Germany and has 18 rotors, each powered individually.
This aircraft entered production in April this year, thus it is already available. It is envisaged that this aircraft will be used as an air taxi in densely populated areas.
The first unmanned flight already took place in 2013, in an indoors arena. The first manned flight took place in 2016 - the aircraft was piloted by Alexander Zosel, which is the company co-founder, that is showing some confidence in the company product!!
This aircraft however have a rather short range of 27 km and can fly at a height of 2 km. (Charging time of the batteries is 2 hours, but it can be quick charged in 40 minutes) It can reach a top speed of 100 km/h and can carry 160 kg. In my opinion the use is rather limited, both in range and carrying capacity.
You can read more about the VOLOCOPTER by clicking on the links VOLOCOPTER Home, which were my sources.
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