Urban air mobility (UAM) pioneer Volocopter has announced that it flew at the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) AirVenture 2021 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
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.
According to the company, 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. In addition, it is also critical to the long-term success of delivering advanced air mobility (AAM) and urban air mobility (UAM) solutions, the company said.
Florian Reuter, CEO, Volocopter, said the test flight is a milestone for the industry and a reminder that the company's 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,' he added.
Rick Larsen, Vice President, Communities & Member Programming, EAA, said Oshkosh is a haven for enthusiasts and experts to embrace the pioneering spirit of aviation, and Volocopter flight is one for the history books. This is the spirit of Oshkosh, giving the visitors the chance to experience real pioneers, who will change aviation for good, right here, he added.
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).