Last week, Volocopter presented their Volocopter 2X at the Paris Air Forum. With both the Volocopter 2X and the VoloCity model onsite, the German urban air mobility (UAM) pioneer showed how much they have advanced to include eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircrafts to everyday transportation.
The demonstrations consisted of a 3-minute remote controlled flight, in which the Volocopter 2X- which looks like a tiny helicopter- flew a 500-meter distance at a 30-meter height, at speeds up to 30 km/h. It has the capacity for two people on board and a luggage compartment. This is the first of many steps in collaboration with the French Civil Aviation Authority to safely allow air taxis to the region.
“The first flight today in Paris highlights Volocopter’s commitment to bring air taxi services to this region in time for the 2024 Olympic Games,” says Florian Reuter, Volocopter CEO. “The alliance of the Paris region, Groupe ADP, and RATP Groupe and their intent to bring electric air taxis to France is a stellar example of the collaborative approach we see to be the most successful for adding this exciting category of mobility to cities globally.”
“Today, we were as close as never before in France to experience electric aviation. Volocopter is a vivid example of what the futures of aviation could look like, both carbon-free and innovative, that Groupe ADP wants to accompany thanks to our infrastructure assets, expertise, and know-how”, states Edward Arkwright, Deputy CEO of GROUPE ADP
Volocopter aims to create a UAM ecosystem by introducing these sustainable services and solutions to cities around the world. The company is well advanced in the certification process for commercial launch and is the first and only eVTOL creator with Design Organization Approval from EASA.
However, Volocopter is not the only one developing electric air taxis. Hyundai, General Motors and Porsche and Boeing, along with smaller startups have announced interest in the market.
If these are successful, we could be looking at crowded skies soon.
