Recently E-Volo introduces Volocopter VC200, an electronic
VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) vehicle which looks like a giant drone. It
can be boarded by passengers as a means of personal transportation, and this
new invention is guaranteed environmentally friendly and much safer than
conventional helicopters.
Volocopter VC200 is claimed as the first green helicopter in
the world. E-Volo team hopes that its presence can change the way we travel, be
an effective alternative to car and plane. Volocopter VC200 has a different
design from the regular helicopters, when the regular helicopters are equipped
with a pair of main propellers and tail rotor, the Volocopter VC200 has 18
pairs of propellers in a circular frame.
The rotor circuit serves to provide vertical thrust for takeoff.
E-Volo creates it with a simple construction without complicated mechanisms;
this also reduces the number of unnecessary drives, ensuring a safer landing
process. Then when one (or several) propeller stops spinning, Volocopter VC200
will only lose lift; it won't fall just like that.
The absence of tail rotor causes easier control. The
Volocopter VC200 presents control system via a simple joystick. Contrary to
other air vehicles, its operation is very easy, because you almost don't need
to pay attention to the tilt angle, minimum speed, stall, path adjustment,
along with other complex factors. The propellers completely serve to push the
Volocopter VC200 to rise up.
Developers are still trying to solve the problem of limited
battery power. The development version has a pair of seats, can fly for 20 to
30 minutes. They are waiting for more advanced battery technology, and is
predicted to be available soon. The team is also trying to work on hybrid power
system; the target is to increase the duration to one hour.
E-Volo is raising funds through a crowdfunding site,
Seedmatch.de, within three days they had successfully collected over 1.2
million Euros. The retail version of Volocopter VC200 is planned to be able to
fly almost 2 km for one hour, and weighs 450 kilograms. One retail unit will be
offered for around US $ 340,000.