Volocopter Completes First Ever Public Crewed eVTOL Test Flight at EAA AirVenture

Today, July 27th, Volocopter flew its 2X eVTOL aircraft at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) AirVenture 2021 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The flight was the first ever public crewed test flight of a fully electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi in the US.

The crewed Volocopter 2X took off at 2:45 PM CST for a 4-minute flight at ~164 ft and a top speed of 18 mph over Wittman Regional Airport as part of EAA’s AirVenture aviation celebration. Event attendees were able to watch the Volocopter 2X fly and take a seat in the VoloCity model at Volocopter’s booth to experience these aircraft. Nicknamed the “World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration,” more than 600,000 visitors are expected to come to see pioneering designs in action.

Footage of the crewed test flight can be found here on Volocopter’s website.

Volocopter’s VoloCity on display at EAA’ AirVenture Oshkosh 2021. Credit // Volocopter

“Oshkosh is a haven for enthusiasts and experts to embrace the pioneering spirit of aviation, and today’s Volocopter flight is one for the history books. This is the spirit of Oshkosh giving our visitors the chance to experience real pioneers, who will change aviation for good, right here,” says Rick Larsen, EAA Vice President of Communities and Member Programming.

“Volocopter successfully conducting the first US public manned test flight of an eVTOL company in the US is a milestone for the industry and a reminder that our commercial launch is fast approaching. We can talk about our lead in certification, low noise emissions, and global partnerships all we want, but nothing shows just how close we are to launch UAM as a service as does flying an air taxi in front of crowds and inviting people to sit in our aircraft. Air taxis are coming, and we are working to bring electric flights to cities around the globe in the next two to three years,” says Florian Reuter, Volocopter CEO.

Once certified for commercial launch in Europe, Volocopter is positioned for concurrent type certification approvals in the US from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), having applied earlier this year, and the civil aviation authority in Singapore (CAAS). The company already holds Design Organisation Approval and Production Organisation Approval, two strategic certification approvals from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to design and produce aircraft in-house.

Why it’s important: This successful flight marks a key milestone in Volocopter’s plan to raise awareness of air taxis among populations around the globe and is critical to the long-term success of delivering advanced air mobility (AAM) and urban air mobility (UAM) solutions.