World premiere of the Volocopter series model 2X

press.volocopter.com

3 points·kensai··4 comments

Let's see whether the eHang really goes life in Dubai this year.

The Volocopter has had unmanned and manned test flights since last year, and is on track to be certified by German authorities next year - looks quite promising.

Achilles heel, of course, is battery life, but this 2x model seems to have a quick-swap battery - that makes a lot of sense.

This type of transportation can't come soon enough! Glad there is more coming out from volocopter Want the ehang introduced just under 2 years ago? And looked to be vaporware, but then they've made the claim they'll be flying this summer. Would love that to happen.

Aeroplanes Glide, and Helicopters Autorotate, what does the eHang or the Volocopter do if it loses power?

Volocopter has 3 * 6 = 18 rotors in 2 concentric circles, and several different power trains, which run rotors opposite each other. So, up to 4 rotors can fail, and you can still achieve a controlled landing.

If more fails, there's a ballistic rescue chute (which requires a certain altitude).

My gut feeling is that it's better than a piston engine, and comparison to a modern turboprop/turbojet/turbofan remains to be seen. But clearly an electric engine has fewer moving parts.

Edit: Don't know so much about the eHang safety concept, but the whole thing looks dodgy to me, to be frank. The 4 twin rotors don't seem to offer much redundancy, and are conveniently located to chop knee caps... Dunno.

Also, disclaimer: I've invested 1000 EUR into the Volocopter. Thus, I'm clearly biased :-)

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