Volocopter e-volo VC400 (defunct)

e-volo VC400 (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.

Volocopter's original plan, at the time, was to have a one, two and four seat eVTOL aircraft passenger models. In addition, the airframes for each of the passenger models would also be used as a base designs, for three different sized cargo-only eVTOL aircraft models as well. In total, they planned six Volocopter models, three passenger models and three cargo-only models.

VC400 passenger eVTOL or hybrid-electric VTOL concept design multicopter aircraft
The VC400 is a passenger eVTOL or hybrid-electric VTOL concept design (now defunct) multicopter aircraft. The aircraft holds a total of four people. The aircraft can hold one pilot and carry three passengers or if flown autonomously, the aircraft can hold a total of four passengers. At the time of the design, the company was called e-volo hence the name e-volo VC400. The aircraft was designed for advanced air mobility (AAM) but was never made into a sub-scale or full scale prototype.

The aircraft has 18 propellers, 18 electric motors and is powered by batteries. The was made without a pusher propeller for forward flight. The aircraft has a front windshield and four doors. While the aircraft was shown without doors so the interior could be seen, the aircraft was designed to have four doors for passenger comfort and had one additional step on the landing skids for easy entry and exit from the aircraft. The aircraft has fixed skid landing gear.

The VC400 was to have the option of an all battery power source or a hybrid-electric power plant. Volocopter has since decided to have an all battery power source for all its Volocopter models. The company imagined the VC400 for personal, commercial and governmental use, including land based travel and ship to shore travel. The aircraft is also very quiet for the passengers and people on the ground.

One note. There is a animated video below, titled, "Mission Volocopter VC007" which Volocopter successfully used to convince their research and industrial partners of the vision of Volocopter at the start of their company in 2012. The concept shown in that video become a reality with the VC200 model. At the end of the video, it shows a single passenger Volocopter with a purple flotation device and a pusher propeller.

Several benefits of the VC400 concept aircraft:

• Easy to fly with a joystick
• Autonomous flying if one chooses, no pilot skills necessary
• Safe to fly
• Very efficient
• Simple and reliable
• Less failures than a petroleum powered aircraft
• Less maintenance costs
• Lower operational costs
• Affordable and almost maintenance-free
• Clean Aviation: No pollution, all electric
• Much quieter than a helicopter, makes for a more pleasant ride and doesn't disturb people on the ground

In addition, in 2016, Volocopter boasted more than 100 microprocessors and other sensors. These sensors allow the aircraft to automatically read and adjust its position and altitude during normal flight, correct for pilot errors, compensate for turbulence and achieve stable flight in windy and gusty conditions, land safely even in an emergency, and take over many of the more complex steps involved in when compared to flying a helicopter.

Furthermore, since there are many small propellers (and not several large rotorblades), the cost of production, maintenance and noise goes rapidly down. At the same time, this reduces the weight of the aircraft which also increases the efficiency of the aircraft. Example, the aircraft can fly longer on less power because it is a lighter aircraft. The other advantage of small propellers and electric motors is lower noise.

In the summer of 2012, the company was planning to make the VC400 production model for sale by 2015; however, this eVTOL concept design never made it to a prototype or production model, as far as we know. The company sees the use of their multicopters for UAM, recreation, farming, search and rescue, cargo, air taxi service and more.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Passenger eVTOL or hybrid-electric VTOL concept design multicopter aircraft
• Piloting: Pilot, remote or autonomous
• Capacity: 4 passengers (including a pilot)
• Flight time: Possibly 20 to 30 minutes
• Propellers: 18 electric propellers
• Electric Motors: 18 electric motors
• Windows: Front windows and door windows for good views.
• Doors: 4 doors
• Ground clearance to propeller assembly frame: 180 cm (5 feet, 11 inches)
• Landing gear: Fixed skid landing gear, with a step for ease of entry and exit of the aircraft
• 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. There is also an aircraft parachute. Has automatic altitude control, automatic gentle landing, crosswinds and turbulence is automatically compensated for. Redundancy has been built into the aircraft so if one critical system breaks, there are other same exact systems so the aircraft can continue flying and safely land.

Related Aircraft:

• Volocopter e-volo VC007 (defunct)
• Volocopter VC1 (defunct prototype)
• Volocopter VC2 (defunct prototype)
• Volocopter e-volo VC100 (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 VC200 (defunct)
• 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
• Video: Mission Volocopter VC007, Volocopter, Oct. 29, 2014
• Video: Mobility of the Volocopter - visualization of a vision during the SwissECS 2014, Volocopter, Oct. 30, 2014
• Article: Volocopter honored at the Paris Climate Summit, Repulni Jo, Dec. 14, 2015
• Article: Let The Flying Car Wars Begin, Fast Company, June 9, 2016
• Article: Volocopter: The Drone of the Future, Drone and Quadcopter, June 16, 2016
• Article: German Ultralight VTOL Innovations, Electric VTOL News, Sept. 1, 2016
• Article: Volocopter VC400 around the Golden Gate Bridge, Repulni Jo, Sept. 9, 2016
• Article: The Demand for On-Demand Mobility, Electric VTOL News, Jan. 1, 2017
• Article: DB Schenker invests as Volocopter extends Series C Round to €87 million, Volocopter, Feb. 21, 2020