Volocopter Unveils Bigger, Faster, eVTOL With Greater Range

Volocopter Unveiles new eVTOL

With the annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exposition (EBACE) being held remotely, German eVTOL developer Volocopter took the opportunity to announce its new VoloConnect eVTOL rotorcraft project. It is expected to enter service by 2026 and complement the company's smaller two-place VoloCity.

The four-seat VoloConnect will run on exclusively electric power, and the company is targeting a cruise speed of 110 mph (eventually increasing to a top speed of around 155 mph). It's also talking about a 60-mile operational range, compared with 22 miles projected for the VoloCity.

Volocopter says the VoloConnect, "!extends the company's UAM ecosystem coverage to the suburbs." Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter estimates that it could generate $60 billion in revenue, while the VoloCity is expected to yield $110 billion in revenues from air taxi services by 2035.

The VoloConnect is configured with a wing linked to its V-tail by a pair of parallel beams, each mounting three electric motors. The beam-mounted rotors enable vertical flight, while aft-mounted ducted fans provide thrust for cruise flight. Volocopter has spent the last two years-plus developing the design---and filing a series of patents for its new technologies.

The company is also developing the VoloDrone, a pilotless cargo-carrying eVTOL with similar range and payload. Reuter said the company wants to produce up to 100,000 aircraft and, with the three designs, "We can now cover all segments of the $290 billion urban air mobility market." He said the two-seat VoloCity is expected to launch commercial operations by year-end 2023. Singapore and Paris remain the target markets for initial urban-mobility services, he said.