Alexander Zosel, managing director of e-Volo, took the Volocopter on its first manned, untethered free flight last Wednesday, launching from an open field in Southern Germany, the company announced today. Video shows the aircraft’s stability and maneuverability, as Zosel flies it with a joystick. “The flight was totally awesome,” Zosel said after landing. “The machine was absolutely reliable, there were no vibrations, it was tremendous … The Volocopter immediately converted every movement I made with the joystick.” The company says it will now proceed with a full flight-test program.
The three-phase program will comprise, first, flights at a speed of 15 mph maximum at low altitude; second, flight maneuvers at a speed of 30 mph at medium altitude; and third, the team will aim to validate the system at higher altitudes and in the full speed range of the VC200 up to 62 mph.
