People may soon be flying in the sky not just through conventional aircraft but also in drone taxis for transportation.
German startup firm Volocopter recently announced that its four-seat electric VTOL aircraft, the VoloConnect drone taxi, has completed its first test flight in May.
Due to the success of VoloConnect's test flight, the company named it the third aircraft prototype of its flight test program.
VoloConnect Test Flight Details
Volocopter mentioned in its announcement that the VoloConnect was able to take flight and perform maneuvers for two minutes and 14 seconds during its first flight. Its ability to take flight proves that the production-level aerodynamics and performance the company installed on the drone taxi will hold up in real-world conditions despite its brief flight, per Engadget.
The VoloConnect is a lift-and-cruise aircraft optimized for "missions beyond the urban and suburban space." It has six rotors that create vertical takeoff while two electric fans and uplifting wings create high forward speeds.
It is also designed to meet the highest aviation safety standards of the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Volocopter placed its VoloConnect drone taxi through three separate tests, which saw the team overseeing VoloConnect's flight test finding that the drone taxi has forward speeds of up to 40 mph and 28 mph sidewards flight speeds during tests.
The company stated that the Volocopter's flight test would be gradually opened as part of the flight test's campaign over the coming weeks.
Volocopter mentioned that the VoloConnect is targeting a range of 60 miles and a cruising speed of more than 155 mph. However, the company did not disclose if the VoloConnect was able to achieve them during the drone taxi's flight test.
The success of the VoloConnect's flight test puts Volocopter in a position to boost its total addressable urban air mobility (UAM) market, along with its first two drone taxis, the VoloDrone and VoloCity.
The difference between Volocopter's VoloCity and VoloConnect is that VoloCity's capabilities are centered to serve routes within a city, while the VoloConnect will focus on longer "urban and suburban missions."
To put it simply, VoloConnect is for people from the suburbs choosing to commute to the city by air, while VoloCity is for people already in the city wishing to commute within the city by air.
Volocopter is targeting 2026 for the release of VOloConnect, while VoloCity can enter service as early as 2024.
Volocopter's Reaction To VoloConnect's Successful Flight Test
Sebastian Mores, Volocopter's Chief Engineer, mentioned that the ColoConnect's successful flight test was "an extraordinary moment" for them in Volocopter.
"... seeing the VoloConnect soar to the sky marks the achievement of one of our key milestones and demonstrates just what we are capable of in a short time and in line with the company's overall strategy for crewed and uncrewed aircraft," Mores said.
He also added that new technologies would be tested and gradually implemented during the overall program development.
