Volocopter 2X Completed Its First US Public Crewed Test Flight

Each year the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) holds a massive air show in Wisconsin called AirVenture. At AirVenture 2021, the Volocopter 2X eVTOL aircraft had a very successful and important milestone flight. At the show, the aircraft had its first-ever public crewed test flight of the fully electric vertical take-off and landing air taxi in the US.

Volocopter says the successful flight is a milestone in its plans to raise awareness of air taxis among populations all around the globe. The successful flight is also seen as critical to the long-term success of delivering advanced air mobility and urban air mobility solutions. A crewed Volocopter 2X took off at 2:45 PM CST and conducted a four-minute flight at an altitude of about 164 feet while reaching a top speed of 18 mph.

The flight was conducted over Wittman Regional Airport as part of the EAA AirVenture aviation celebration. Participants at the event were able to watch the flight and climb inside the interior of a VoloCity model to get a hands-on experience with the aircraft. Volocopter says it's the only eVTOL developer with a family of electric aircraft for carrying passengers and goods.

The family of aircraft from the company includes long and short-distance machines, including the VoloCity and VoloConnect air taxis as well as the VoloDrone. The VoloDrone is a heavy-lift drone. Volocopter notes that it's also the only developer of aircraft of the type to hold Design Organization Approval and Production Organization Approval, two certification approvals from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency allowing it to design and produce aircraft in-house.

Once aircraft are certified for commercial launch in Europe, the company will be positioned for concurrent type certification approvals in the US from the FAA. The company applied for approvals from the FAA earlier this year and from the civilian aviation authority in Singapore.