Volocopter
| Volocopter GmbH | |
|---|---|
| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 2007 |
| Seat | Bruchsal, Germany
|
| management | Florian Reuter Jan-Hendrik Boelens |
| Number of employees | 150 (August 2019) |
| Branch | Aircraft construction |
| Website | volocopter.com |
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The Volocopter GmbH (original name e-volo ), headquartered in Bruchsal develops, tests and markets a new helicopter concept for electrically powered passenger-carrying Multikopter that as autonomous air taxis are to be used.
background
The software engineer Stephan Wolf developed the idea of a manned multicopter in 2010; In 2011 his childhood friend Alexander Zosel joined the project. Wolf's existing Karlsruhe-based software company Syntern was re-capitalized and renamed e-volo and from then on carried the project. The first implementation of the Volocopter concept took place with the prototype VC 1 , which carried out the first manned flight with a purely electrically powered helicopter in October 2011. After the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) had promised funding of over two million euros in mid-2012, the development of an approved prototype, the VC200, began . From 2015, a professional management team was hired under the leadership of an external CEO, Florian Reuter; In 2017, the company was funded in two financing rounds with a total of 30 million euros. a. financed by Daimler , Intel and B-to-V, a Swiss venture capital fund, and from then on operated under the name Volocopter. Another financing round of 50 million euros took place in September 2019, in which Daimler and its Chinese shareholder Geely also took part.
Home of the project since 2016, the airport Bruchsal , there is the work of Mitentwicklers DG aircraft construction , in which the cell of the models VC200 and 2X in carbon fiber composite is manufactured -Leichtbauweise.
Volocopter aircraft
Working principle
In contrast to normal helicopters, Volocopters do not need any mechanical components such as swash plates , blade adjustment, tail rotor or rudder for control . The propellers are firmly attached to the motors. Changes in the lift or propulsion take place solely by increasing or decreasing the respective engine speed. If the speed of all motors is increased or decreased at the same time, the Volocopter increases or decreases ( vertical take-off and landing ). Control is based on the fly-by-wire principle with a joystick. The automatic position control and direction control are carried out by several independent and mutually monitoring computers ( redundancy ), which also regulate the speed of each motor separately.
Classification
With a take-off weight of 600 kg, the Volocopter is formally one of the ultra- light aircraft , which in addition to aerodynamically controlled machines also includes ultra-light gyrocopter and ultra-light helicopter. To be allowed to fly these, you only need a sports pilot license in Germany . Since the Volocopter cannot be approved as a helicopter, Volocopter is striving to create a separate aircraft category within the class of ultralight aircraft through the responsible associations, the German Ultralight Flight Association and the German Aero Club, as well as the Federal Aviation Office (LBA). This is to avoid that Volocopters may only be flown with a helicopter license; At the same time, corresponding building regulations and the operating regulations are to be created and training regulations developed. In July 2019, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published new regulations for the first time, which are aimed at small vertical take-off devices (SC-VTOL for small-category VTOL ).
Prototypes
VC 1
In October 2011, co-founder Thomas Senkel undertook the world's first manned flight with a purely electrically powered helicopter with the VC 1 .
VC200 / 2X
After receiving funding from the BMWi , Volocopter built the VC200 two-seater , which is equipped with 18 individual motors . The aim of the development in January 2013 was a two-seater Volocopter that could be approved, based on the VC Evolution 2P concept study.
| Parameter | according to the target dates |
|---|---|
| Max. Takeoff mass | 600 kg |
| Attainable altitude | over 6,500 ft (approx. 2,000 m) |
| Top speed | over 100 km / h (54 kn ) |
| Flight duration | 27 min |
On November 17, 2013, the first unmanned flight of the prototype took place in the dm-arena of Messe Karlsruhe . In April 2014, the company presented a prototype of the VC200 at the Aero Friedrichshafen aviation exhibition . Alexander Zosel carried out the first manned flight on March 30, 2016. Since then, the company has already had preliminary flight certification for the device. Series production of the Volocopter 2X began in April 2017 . The Volocopter 2X is "not just a modified version of the VC200 prototype, but a completely new development in all parts." In autumn 2017, a five-year test program began in Dubai . A targeted operation of autonomous air taxis as a means of public transport is to be tested. On September 14, 2019, the device's first unoccupied free flight took place in Germany (Stuttgart).
The VC200 and 2X models are equipped with a total rescue system, which is a novelty in helicopters. With normal helicopters and gyroscopes (autogyros) the way up is blocked by the main rotor and the use of a total rescue system is not possible. Previously, only Kamow helicopters could be rescued by blowing off the two main rotors and then using an ejector seat.
In 2018, ADAC -Luftrettung announced that it would test Volocopters in the rescue service in model regions in Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate.
VoloCity
With VoloCity , Volocopter presents the fourth generation and the first series model of its aircraft. It is now available with two vertical stabilizers fitted to keep the direction of flight more stable. The device is adapted to the SC-VTOL regulations published by EASA in July 2019.
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| Aviation personnel | 1 or self-steering |
| Passengers | 2 |
| diameter | 11.3 m |
| Single rotor diameter | 2.3 m |
| height | 2.5 m |
| payload | 200 kg |
| Empty mass | 700 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 900 kg |
| Design-related top speed | 110 km / h |
| calculated range | 35 km |
| Engines | 18 electric motors |
VoloDrone
In 2019, Volocopter developed a cargo drone ( VoloDrone ) for smaller loads of up to 200 kg that can be transported up to 40 kilometers. At Agritechnica in November 2019, Volocopter and the neighboring agricultural machinery company, John Deere, presented a cargo drone that is made for spraying fungicides and insecticides .
Awards
- 2012: Volocopter won the Lindbergh Innovation Award 2012 , donated by the Lindbergh Foundation .
- 2013: CyberChampions Award 2013/14 - special prize "Hightech Pioneer"
“For example, the 'Hightech Pioneer' special prize was awarded for the first time at the CyberChampions Award 2013/14. It was won by Volocopter GmbH, which enables the first manned flight with a purely electrically operated aircraft that takes off vertically. With its Volocopter, the 'green' helicopter of the future, Volocopter has caused a sensation in the aviation industry worldwide. The Ministry of Transport has commissioned a test program specifically for the Volocopter to create a new aviation class. "
Comparable types
Related developments
Movie
- Flying taxis for the world - the company Volocopter from Bruchsal. Documentary, Germany, 2020, 29:44 min., Script and direction: Joachim Auch and Jochen Braitinger, production: SWR , series: made in Südwest , first broadcast: March 18, 2020 on SWR television , synopsis by ARD , online video available until July 23, 2021.
See also
Web links
- Internet presence of Volocopter GmbH
- “There won't be any traffic jams in the air.” In: Zeit online , June 20, 2019, with podcast , 66:44 min., Volocopter co-founder Alexander Zosel on the future of air taxis and the goals of Volocopter.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Press release: Volocopter reveals design for the latest Urban Air Mobility aircraft. VoloCity will be the first commercial Volocopter flying taxi. In: volocopter.com , August 21, 2019, accessed on March 18, 2020: "... the company now has over 150 employees in offices in Bruchsal, Munich and Singapore."
- ↑ a b dpa : About Stuttgart. Volocopter is flying in Germany for the first time. In: FAZ , September 14, 2019, with video, 2:18 min.
- ↑ Volocopter - a revolutionary new aircraft. In: DG Flugzeugbau GmbH . 2013, archived from the original on December 5, 2013 ; Retrieved April 11, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Special Condition for VTOL. In: EASA . July 2, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ Lucian Haas: Multicopter. Easy to steer and floats like a one. In: Stuttgarter Zeitung , January 9, 2012, (Alternative title: With 16 propellers in the air. )
- ↑ a b c VC200 - the first Volocopter to carry 2 people. In: e-volo GmbH. January 2013, archived from the original on January 28, 2013 ; accessed on April 13, 2017 .
- ↑ First flight of the Volocopter. In: DG Flugzeugbau GmbH. November 2013, archived from the original on December 3, 2013 ; accessed on April 12, 2017 : “On Sunday, November 17, 2013 the successful maiden flight and numerous other test flights took place. The flights took place unmanned with a bag of screws as ballast in the locked dm-Arena in Karlsruhe. "
- ↑ AERO 2014 celebrates the Volocopter as a highlight. In: e-volo GmbH. April 19, 2014, archived from the original on April 24, 2014 ; Retrieved April 12, 2017 .
- ↑ KS: Volocopter flies manned for the first time. In: Aerokurier . Motor Presse Stuttgart , April 7, 2016, accessed on April 13, 2017 .
- ↑ Press release: Production of the first series Volocopter started. In: DG Flugzeugbau GmbH , April 4, 2017.
- ↑ cst / dpa : Air taxi masters maiden flight over Dubai. In: Spiegel online , September 26, 2017.
- ↑ Jochen Oesterle (press release): ADAC Luftrettung is examining the use of manned multicopters in the rescue service. In: ADAC , November 29, 2018.
- ↑ Karl Schwarz: Volocopter unveils VoloCity air taxi. In: Flugrevue .de. August 21, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Karl Schwarz: Volocopter reveals design for the latest Urban Air Mobility aircraft. In: startupvalley.news. August 21, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ VoloCity: Technical Features. In: Volocopter , 2019, at the bottom of the page, accessed on March 18, 2020.
- ^ Volocopter unveils design for commercial VoloCity aircraft. ( Memento from August 22, 2019 in the Internet Archive ). In: Aerospace Technology , August 19, 2019.
- ↑ red: Volocopter lets cargo drone take off. In: Econo , October 30, 2019.
- ↑ Press release: John Deere and Volocopter cooperate on building a large drone. Large drone for agriculture. In: volocopter.com , November 7, 2019, accessed March 18, 2020.
- ^ Lindbergh Prize for Innovation Given to e-volo. In: Lindbergh Foundation. April 20, 2012, accessed on March 18, 2020 (English): "The ninth Lindbergh Prize recognizes innovation in vertical take-off and landing."
- ↑ a b Press release : CyberChampions Award honors outstanding business ideas from the IT and high-tech sectors. (PDF; 3 pp., 70 kB) In: CyberForum. November 6, 2013, accessed March 18, 2020 .