First Public eVTOL Flight Demonstration in France

Volocopter 2X electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at Le Bourget Airfield during the Paris Air Forum. With both, the flight demonstration of their Volocopter 2X and the VoloCity model onsite, the German UAM developer demonstrated the progress they are making to introduce eVTOL aircraft as an addition to existing transportation in the Paris region.

The 3-minute remote controlled flight was the first public flight demonstration of an electrically powered air taxi in France. It gave the public a real-life experience of what an air taxi looks and sounds like in operations. Attendees watched as the Volocopter 2X flew a 500m route at speeds up to 30 km/h and 30m high along the Le Bourget Airfield. This flight marks the beginning of a multi-step test and market development campaign in cooperation with the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC - Direction générale de l'aviation civile) to safely bring electric air taxis to the Île-de-France region. Attendees could sit inside the VoloCity model for a first-hand experience and detailed explanation of the benefits of electric air taxi services.

Volocopter was announced as the first vehicle and operations partner for the launch of the urban air mobility industrial branch in Paris in September 2020. Now the company is planning to open a local office and is recruiting staff and expanding local partnerships to ensure the new Urban Air Mobility (UAM) solutions meet local demands. Volocopter is also working on an agreement with Groupe ADP and RATP Groupe to collaborate for the 2024 Olympics to enhance regional connectivity in a meaningful way and showcase the benefits and key attributes of urban air mobility.

Volocopter is well advanced in the certification process with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for commercial launch. As the first and only eVTOL developer with Design Organization Approval (DOA) from EASA, Volocopter is introducing sustainable UAM solutions to cities around the world. Volocopter’s approach to introducing these services is to create a UAM ecosystem in which passengers and goods experience seamless connectivity with their cities via Volocopter’s mobility solutions: VoloCity (aircraft for intra-city connections), VoloConnect (aircraft for city-suburb connections), VoloDrone (aircraft for cargo transport), and VoloPorts (take-off and landing sites) which are all fully integrated on the digital platform VoloIQ (real time digital twin of the ecosystem).