27 July 2021
Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), completed the first-ever public crewed test flight of a fully electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi in the US at EAA’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
This successful flight marks a key milestone in Volocopter’s plan to raise awareness of air taxis among populations around the globe and is critical to the long-term success of delivering advanced air mobility (AAM) and urban air mobility (UAM) solutions.
The crewed Volocopter 2X took off at 2:45 PM CST for a 4-minute flight at ~164 ft and a top speed of 18 mph over Wittman Regional Airport as part of EAA’s AirVenture aviation celebration. Event attendees were able to watch the Volocopter 2X fly and take a seat in the VoloCity model at Volocopter’s booth to experience these aircraft.
“Volocopter successfully conducting the first US public manned test flight of an eVTOL company in the US is a milestone for the industry and a reminder that our 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,” says Florian Reuter, Volocopter CEO.
Volocopter is the only eVTOL developer with a family of electric aircraft for passengers and goods. This aircraft family includes aircraft for both long and short distances within cities and beyond (VoloCity and VoloConnect air taxis and VoloDrone heavy-lift drone). 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.
Volocopter the Multirotor Helicopter, World’s First Flying Taxi, flies over Marina Bay Sands Singapore in 2019
Volocopter is an expert in urban air mobility (UAM), a subcategory of AAM. While the term AAM covers the aviation transportation system for people and goods with highly automated aircraft, UAM focuses specifically on how these advanced aircraft can thrive in and around cities. The company has ten years of experience, over 1,000 test flights, and a track record of public flights in Paris (2021), Singapore (2019), Helsinki (2019), Dubai (2017).
Catch the episode featuring Volocopter on our Everyday Tech & Transport segment. Airing on our TechStorm Originals time-belt on 16 September, at 9:50pm (SG/MY), 8:50pm (BKK/JKT), 7:20pm (SL)