Alexander Zosel, Stephan Wolf and Kathrin Mohr envisioned a helicopter that could run emission free. They’ve been developing the Volocopter VC200 as the world’s first green helicopter, and use the tagline “Safer, simpler, and cleaner than normal helicopters.”
The vehicle is meant to be the intersection between drones and helicopters and the company is looking to be regulated as a light sport multicopter, a classification that does not currently exist. The Volocopter can be piloted from inside the two person craft or remotely. Eighteen rotors turn their propellers independently for control that e-Volo says will be more precise than standard helicopter steering.
The company also says that these multiple rotors add safety to the system, in the event of some drives failing others will allow a safe landing. A parachute is also included in the extreme case that all drives fail, but no pictures or specifications are available for the parachute.
Goals for the Volocopter’s performance are 100 kilometers per hour cruising speed and a maximum altitude of 6500 feet. 450 kilograms can be carried including the weight of the two passengers for a flight time of more than one hour.
In 2011 the team posted a video titled World’s first manned flight with an electric multicopter that featured a skeleton of the current design. e-Volo had a lot of buzz in the middle of 2013 when this video was released, won the Lindbergh Prize for Innovation in 2012, and featured at AERO Friedrichshafen’s e-flight-expo in 2014. Most of 2015 has been spent on the VC4RC concept, a prototype with four drives that can carry 80 kilograms and claims to be the world’s largest existing airworthy quadcopter.
This week was my first time seeing the Volocopter and I was impressed by its unique look and the work that’s already gone into its development. Gaining approval for a new aircraft, especially when trying to create an entirely new aircraft classification, is a huge undertaking but I hope the e-volo team can make it happen.