e-volo: manned multicopter World’s first manned flight with an electric multicopter

Navigation and control systems are being developed at the Hochschule Karlsruhe – Technik und Wirtschaft for a new kind of manned aircraft, a purely electrically powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft by the e-volo team. The project receives 2 Mio Euro federal funds.

Six consortium members (including the Institute of Applied Research (IAF) at the Hochschule Karlsruhe) are working on the new aircraft - the so called volocopter. The consortium receives about 2 Mio Euro in funding over the next three years.

Volocopter VC200 (Image: e-volo)

e-volo's volocopter is controlled by a pilot and has two seats. Unlike a traditional helicopter, the volocopter is powered by 18 rotors. Another difference is the energy source: the volocopter works with electric energy. This makes the aircraft silent, environmentally friendly and reduces flight costs. The batteries are laid out for a flight time of about an hour. With a total weight of 450 kg and a maximum altitude of 2000 m, the volocopter can reach a top speed of 100 km/h. It is also a very safe product: even with the failure of several motors, the volocopter can still land safely. For emergency situations there is a parachute installed. The volocopter has won the Charles Lindbergh 2012 award at the AERO aviation fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Press release on November, 2011: Deutsch / Englisch       Flyer: e-volo und Navka

Publication and discussion of the e-volo at IEEE Spectrum: http://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace

More on www.e-volo.de

Photos: e-volo

e-volo

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