Volocopter VC200 (defunct)

VC200 (defunct)
Volocopter GmbH
Bruschal, Germany
www.volocopter.com

Volocopter GmbH was founded in 2011 in Karlsruhe, Germany, by Alexander Zosel and Stephen Wolf with the intent of making an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) multicopter aircraft for fast and efficient advanced air mobility (AAM). Advanced air mobility has also been called urban air travel. On Oct. 21, 2011, the company made history by making the first crewed flight in the world of a multicopter, named the VC1. The multicopter was flown in southwest Germany by co-founder, primary designer, inventor and builder, Thomas Senkel. The Guinness Book of World Records has the historic flight listed on their website. The company was originally known as "e-volo GmbH" until being renamed to "Volocopter GmbH" in July 2017 and the company is now based in Bruchsal, Germany.

In 2015, Volocopter received the “Climate Champion COP21” award at the Paris Climate Conference (held 30 November - 11 December 2015) in Paris, France, for the Volocopter. Also in 2015, the company stated the Volocopter is being designed to be flown with the option of being piloted drone, remotely, or autonomously, for passenger aircraft. For cargo aircraft, the Volocopters are being designed to be flown remotely or autonomously. The Volocopter is simple, safe and green.

VC200 passenger eVTOL multicopter prototype defunct aircraft
The Volocopter VC200 is a full scale two passenger eVTOL multicopter prototype defunct aircraft that made many successful test flights. The first uncrewed flight took place indoors on November 17, 2013. The first crewed flight took place on March 30, 2016. Volocopter claimed this as the world’s first two-seat electric VTOL aircraft. The multicopter has side by side seating made for one pilot and one passenger. The VC200 is no longer flying and is now defunct.

 The cruise speed of the multicopter is 100 km/h (62 mph). The empty weight of the aircraft is 300 kg (661 lb), its maximum payload weight is 150 kg (331 lb) and its maximum takeoff weight is 450 kg (992 lb). The multicopter has 18 non-tilting VTOL propellers, 18 electric motors and is powered by batteries.

The cabin has a front windshield with no side doors. Safety belts are required when flying the aircraft. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite. The length of fuselage is 2.9 meters (9.5 feet), the height of the multicopter is 2 meters (6.6 feet) and the diameter of rotor assembly frame is 9.15 meters (31 feet). The aircraft has fixed skid landing gear.

The Volocopter 2X is a refined next generation version of the VC200 and at the time had a limited number of pre-production prototypes under development for future sale.

Future developments
Volocopter will be manufacturing the aircraft, running the air taxi service, building Voloports, allow passengers to request a flight through an app, will not be selling their aircraft to individuals and will offer air taxi urban travel at competitive prices. Volocopter stated in November 2019 that the VC1, VC2, VC200 and 2X prototypes have collectively made over 1,000 test flights, including in Dubai and Singapore.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Passenger eVTOL multicopter prototype aircraft
• Capacity: 2 passengers
• Cruise speed: 100 km/h (62 mph)
• Empty weight: 300 kg (661 lb)
• Maximum payload weight: 150 kg (331 lb)
• Maximum takeoff weight: 450 kg (992 lb)
• Propellers: 18 propellers
• Electric motors: 18 electric motors
• Motor output: 18x 3.9 kW (18 x 5.3 hp)
• Power source: Batteries
• Length of fuselage: 2.9 m (9.5 ft)
• Height of multicopter: 2 m (6.6 ft)
• Diameter of rotor assembly frame: 9.15 m (31 ft)
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Cabin: The cabin has a front windshield with no doors
• Landing gear: Fixed skid landing gear
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers and motors on the aircraft so if one or more motors or propellers fail, the other working motors and propellers can safely land the aircraft. In case of an in-flight emergency, the aircraft is equipped with a whole aircraft emergency ballistic parachute.

Related Aircraft:

• Volocopter e-volo VC007 (defunct)
• Volocopter VC1 (defunct prototype)
• Volocopter VC2 (defunct prototype)
• Volocopter e-volo VC100 (defunct)
• Volocopter e-volo VC400 (defunct)
• Volocopter e-volo uVC100 cargo (defunct)
• Volocopter e-volo uVC200 cargo (defunct)
• Volocopter e-volo uVC400 cargo (defunct)
• Volocopter VC Evolution 1P (defunct)
• Volocopter VC Evolution 2P (defunct)
• Volocopter 2X (prototype)
• Volocopter VoloCity (prototype)
• Volocopter VoloDrone (prototype)
• Volocopter VoloRegion (prototype)

Company Insights

• Pitchbook
• Crunchbase
• MarketWatch
• Tracxn

Resources:

• Volocopter website
• Volocopter Facebook
• Volocopter X (formerly Twitter)
• Volocopter YouTube Channel
• Volocopter Instagram
• Volocopter LinkedIn
• Volocopter WeChat
• Volocopter Wikipedia
• Article: Volocopter VC200 Ultra-Light Helicopter, Aerospace Technology, date unknown
• Video: World's first manned flight with an electric multicopter, forschungsbuero, Oct. 28, 2011
• Video: Volocopter VC200 First Flight, forschungsbuero, Nov. 20, 2013
• Article: e-volo Volocopter VC200 – two-person rotor aircraft, Rob Aid, Nov. 23, 2013
• Article: Volocopter VC200 commences flight tests, Vertical Magazine, Nov. 30, 2015
• Article: Meet E-Volo VC200, an Eco-Friendly 18-rotor Electric Volocopter, Lux Expose, Mar. 9, 2016
• Video: Volocopter: Aviation History – First Piloted Air Taxi Flight of VC200 – Future of Mobility, Volocopter, Apr. 6, 2016
• Article: The Demand for On-Demand Mobility, Vertiflite, January/February 2017
• Article: Air Mobility Bonanza Beckons Electric VTOL Developers, Vertiflite, March/April 2017
• Article: This 18-rotor electric ‘flying taxi’ will be buzzing overhead next year, The Verge, Apr. 5, 2017
• Article: e-volo’s 2X Ready for Production, Electric VTOL News, May 2, 2017
• Video: Dubai's flying taxi – the volocopter – takes first flight, Esquire, Sept. 25, 2017
• Video: The Volocopter 2X. Mobility in the next dimension, Volocopter, Oct. 16, 2017
• Video: Volocopter’s flying taxi takes off at CES, The Verge, Jan. 8, 2018
• Video: 2018 CES: Intel CEO Brian Krzanich Takes a Volocopter Test, Intel Newsroom, Jan.8, 2018
• Article: Exclusive: Volocopter’s air taxi takes flight for first time in the US, The Verge, Jan. 8, 2018
• Article: Volocopter 2X: An Autonomous Flying Taxi In Flight At CES 2018 In Las Vegas For The First Time, Inquistr, Jan. 8, 2018
• Article: Remote-piloted Volocopter eVTOL Flies Intel CEO, Aviation International News Online, Jan. 9, 2018
• Article: Volocopter presents air taxi services at scale, Volocopter, Apr. 17, 2018
• Article: The eVTOL Volocopter VC200 – The Personal Electric Multicopter/Aircraft, Sia Magazine, Oct. 23, 2018
• Article: Mobility of the Future: Fraport and Volocopter Are Developing Airport Infrastructure and Passenger Processes for Air Taxi Services, Volocopter, Feb. 12, 2019
• White Paper: Pioneering The Urban Air Taxi Revolution, 1.0, Volocopter, June 6, 2019
• Article: Volocopter Unveils VoloCity, Its First Production eVTOL, Aviation International News Online, Aug. 21, 2019
• Article: VoloCity to Become First Commercial Volocopter Aircraft, Volocopter, Aug. 21, 2019
• Article: Successful Integration of Piloted Air Taxi into Air Traffic Management / UTM System, Volocopter, Aug. 30, 2019
• Article: Stuttgart see first urban flight of Volocopter in Europe, Volocopter, Sept. 9, 2019
• Article: World’s First Full-Scale Air Taxi VoloPort Unveiled in Singapore, Volocopter, Oct. 21, 2019
• Article: Volocopter VC200 Specs, Interior, Cockpit, and Price, Helicopter Specs, Nov. 2019
• Article: DB Schenker invests as Volocopter extends Series C Round to € 87 million, Volocopter, Feb. 21, 2020