Volocopter’s plans to test passenger flights in its striking electric air taxi from a floating platform on the Seine River during the Olympics were stymied by bureaucracy, but the company has managed to kick off the eVTOL operational validation phase at a vertiport a few miles away.
Yes, the land of bureaucracy has put the brakes on test flights scheduled for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The reason for this is certification delays for the engines of the German company’s 18-rotor electric vertical takeoff and landing VoloCity aircraft, which we first encountered in 2013.
Volocopter partnered with the Paris regional government, the French capital’s transport operator RATP and airport operator ADP to fly people from a floating platform on the Seine River (near the Austerlitz train hub) to other vertical docks built by ADP scattered around the city. But that didn’t happen and the hope now is that all the problems will be resolved in time for the Notre Dame Cathedral to reopen later in the year.
Flying helicopter
Meanwhile, a few miles outside Paris, Volocopter has conducted a crewed test flight at the first dedicated commercial vertiport at Saint-Cyr-l’École Airport. This follows a three-year collaborative effort between the German air mobility company and French airport operator Groupe ADP, and marks the start of a series of pre-commercial tests designed to validate the technologies.
The current programme will test manoeuvres to and from the vertiport, ground handling, air traffic control communications and battery charging installations. This round of test flights is expected to conclude this weekend at the Palace of Versailles.
“We have achieved our goal of flying in the Ile-de-France during this extraordinary summer,” said Edward Arkwright, Deputy CEO of Groupe ADP. “We have also achieved our goal of launching the first vertical port network at Saint-Cyr L’Ecole, which completes our network in the Ile-de-France (together with Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Le Bourget, Paris-Issy les Moulineaux, Pontoise). For now, the test flights are being carried out without passengers, but once the aircraft is certified, we will test emergency medical flights with AP-HP (University Hospital Centre of the Ile-de-France). It takes time for aviation innovations to overcome safety barriers, but we believe that new carbon-free air mobility around eVTOLs will offer useful services that go far beyond passenger transport.”
Flying helicopter
The two-person VeloCity air taxi has undergone multiple prototypes and more than 2,000 test flights over the past decade. The composite fuselage is crowned by a circular frame measuring 9.3 m (30 ft) in diameter, which houses 18 rotors, each powered by its own electric motor. According to the latest available specifications, maximum airspeed is targeted at 110 km/h (68 mph), and operational range from onboard Li-ion battery packs is given as 35 km (22 mi), but not at full throttle. The aircraft will initially house a pilot and passenger in the cabin, but autonomous flight is expected to take place at some point in the future.
Source: Volocopter