JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #89 - May 2014 - 15

e-helicopter

An amazing 2-seater
electric-powered helicopter
E-volo's Volocopter is a revolution in aviation made in Germany. It has a unique way
of moving like an UAV which allows this
helicopter to be safer, simpler, and cleaner. The Volocopter is an environmentfriendly and emission-free personal helicopter. Instead of one combustion engine,
eighteen electrically driven rotors propel
it.

he maiden flight and
first test flights were
conducted in the dmarena in Karlsruhe on Sunday 17 November 2013, with
the support of Karlsruher
Messe- und Kongress GmbH
(KMK), using the prototype of the 2-seater VC200.
Based on this model, the
helicopter will be prepared
for series production in the
coming years.
With multiple flights lasting
several minutes reaching the
nearly 22 m high ceiling of
the dm-arena, including a
number of smooth take-offs
and landings, the Volocopter
concept exceeded all expectations.

A fully new design
E-volo's development team

knew from the onset that the
Volocopter was very easy to
fly. Due to elaborate simulations at Stuttgart University,
they already knew that it was
much quieter than a conventional helicopter. However,
the pleasant low, rich sound
and the lower-than-expected noise level caused great
cheering among the e-volo
team during the first flights.
People were eager to know
whether there would be disturbing or even dangerous
vibrations in the mechanic structure of the rotor
plane. Due to the complex
structure of the Volocopter, which is built with
lightweight carbon, it was
not possible to simulate the
expected vibrations in the
laboratory. The result of the
first flight shows an exceptionally good behaviour of
the structure. Not even the

HD video cameras secured
to the exterior carbon ring
of the rotor plane captured
the least vibrations.
Most helicopter accidents
occur in connection with the
pilot's behaviour. According to the Volocopter's
designers, the new control
system and sensor technology, together with 18 rotor
blades and a low-maintenance architecture, make the
Volocopter much safer than
conventional helicopters
because nearly all problems
of normal helicopters are
thereby solved.

Cooperation partnership
The first flight of the e-volo
Volocopter VC200 in Karlsruhe on 17 November 2013
took place with the support
of Ascending Technologies
GmbH. This enabled the
Volocopter project to benefit from the expertise of the
long-standing technology
leader in unmanned aircrafts
(UAV). Ascending Techno-

logies from Krailling, near
Munich, is the creator and
inventor of micro UAVs for
professional use. With more
than 1000 multicopters sold
worldwide, the company is a
unique source of experience.
Combining a high level of
in-house manufacturing
experience and pioneer work
in sensor data processing
and flight attitude stabilization, Ascending Technologies is a valuable partner
for e-volo. At the same time,
participation in this project
and continued development
of the Volocopter offers a
new and welcome challenge
to the company. n
More information:
www.e-volo.com

Discover
the first
flight

Just before the flight

No89 May 2014

/ jec composites magazine 15

http://www.e-volo.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #89 - May 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #89 - May 2014