Volocopter: Aviation History - First Piloted Air Taxi Flight of VC200 - Future of Mobility

First manned flight with the eVTOL Volocopter VC200.
The premiere of a manned flight with the world’s first certified Multicopter, Volocopter VC200, marks the beginning of a new era in urban mobility. It is the first step towards the implementation of air taxis.The first person to pilot the electrically multicopter was Alex Zosel, Co-founder of Volocopter.
“The flight was totally awesome” pilot Alexander Zosel said right after his landing. “It is definitely a sublime feeling to lift off, fly the first few meters, and then actually take my hand off the joystick and think that, yeah, it’s really as if I’m standing on the ground, and then I look down and there are 20-25 meters beneath me. It’s unbelievable what we’ve achieved here. It’s seriously unbelievable!”
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Der erste bemannte Flug mit dem Flugtaxi Volocopter VC200.
Die Premiere des ersten bemannten zugelassenen Multicopter Flug mit dem Volocopter VC200 läutet den Beginn einer neuen Ära in der urbanen Mobilität ein.
“Also der erste Flug war einfach unglaublich” sagte Pilot Alexander Zosel direkt nach seiner Landung. “Es ist schon ein erhabenes Gefühl, abzuheben, zu fliegen die ersten Meter und dann wirklich mal die Hand vom Joystick wegzunehmen und zu merken, ja es ist als würde ich auf dem Boden stehen und dann gucke ich runter und es sind 20-25 Meter. Also es ist schon unglaublich was wir da geschaffen haben. Es ist echt unglaublich!“
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[@MundoDrone]

Congratulations to all for their dedication and pioneering spirit! Enjoy every minute!

[@frankanderson183]

Well done! It's a great beginning, and I'm looking forward to seeing your next steps. Congratulations to your team.

[@flightisallright]

Ok: 1. This thing does not have auto-rotation. But it has redundancy in the number of engines so that one malfunctioning motor is no issue at all. Also, brush-less engines have been around for a while and are quite reliable. 2. The helicopter comes with a ballistic parachute (See bulge on top) should anything seriously go wrong. 3. Multiple engines are more efficient than a single one when it comes to electric propulsion. It eliminates the need for a tail-rotor or counter-rotating main blades. Each of the brushless motors has better cooling, a smaller-diameter prop,... btw: An engine is actually any device that "converts energy in one form into mechanical energy" (wikipedia), although I do agree that "brushless motor" is the preferred term.

[@EastyUK]

Mechanical redundancy regarding the rotors. Would still need to consider power and control system redundancy. My first question with this kind of vehicle is not safety its practical range. Plenty of experimental flying around that are practical and not super safe. not so many vica versa.

[@bryan76016]

They are motors, not engines. A power (electrical) failure mean free fall. Will the ballistic parachute work if you are at 500 feet or less above the ground? I have had forced landings before. I need more control. Thanks anyway.

[@canadajim]

@@bryan76016 There would certainly be a danger zone of heights where you would not want to be. Anything above 5' up to 75' I bet. They should always be flying high in that case. Then again depending on their redundancy schemese they could lose a lot and still be okay. 3 working rotors I believe is all they would need to at least slow descent, or more perhaps depending on the programming. One thing to note is that they could easily run those motors at 500% rated power (or some other multiple) for a short time in an emergency too. They would burn up but not immediately.

[@stoltzk]

Congratulations to team Volocopter on a great job. Keep pressing forward and making history.

[@SackyX]

Congrats you can now fly about 5 minutes to pick up some beer at the corner store! ;-) Very cool flight!

[@odinodin3512]

+ Т молоток )))))

[@TheMusketITuckedIt204]

+jASTDK I think you're drunk already.

[@advantageinv]

+t hammer - Still lasted longer than the Wright brothers' first manned trials

[@user-ld9tl2kj7d]

its not max speed

[@shakeAbooty88]

+Jeff Dickison Wow. Over 100 years later.

[@JoeZip25]

Instead of all the (crappy) music and production, how about a video of just how it happens with the sound of the machine?

[@lola5243]

Music is great.

[@sondengehen]

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zu Eurem bemanntem Erstflug! Ist ja klasse gelaufen!

[@WAJK2030]

Von mir ebenso!

[@o.k.8168]

Schließe mich den Glückwünschen an. Hoffe das da noch mehr kommt ;-)

[@johnl7443]

Leonardo DaVinci would be stoked!

[@Martakus1000]

Let's make a petition to rename this to YOLOCOPTER.

[@beaker2000]

LMAO

[@rcbif101]

Proppy-McPropface.

[@mueslee3001]

actually it's Alex ;)

[@Pawel5837]

Ali?Express??

[@bowzist]

😂

[@dmlockwood]

The Wright Brothers flight lasted only 12 seconds and traveled 120 feet. Give credit to where credit is due. This could be the beginning of something very big. I like it!

[@Tejanoart]

+D Lockwood Can you imagine what comments may have been said during the Wright Brothers flight? "So what! I can travel 120 feet just using my Buggy Whip!"

[@imbaddkarma6957]

Yeah bc comparing the Wright bro. To these people is legitimate.? Wright bros created their own design and these wannabes just made something the world has had for a very long time. What's sad is they didn't even improve on anything, if anything they went backwards. But that's Germany still stuck in the past. Easiest people to fool in the world right above north Korea. Kim and Hitler.....enough said

[@shelbyseelbach9568]

Mega Megatron the average Joe can't maintain a vehicle in safe working order half the time, and drive like idiots half the time. imagine one of these falling out of the sky for every one thousand poorly maintained cars that break down on the road. the dream of a flying machine for the average Joe is a fools dream, never happen.

[@Prata1516]

@Ace Buck well when the car was made only the rich could afford it

[@olsmokey]

Most excellent! I've been waiting for this flight for ages. Well done indeed.

[@petebike]

BRAVO!!! I have been waiting to see this take flight! Well done!

[@mrpagester]

simply brilliant !!!

[@GiesbertNijhuis]

Congratulations, supper!! You all made this dream a reality. I was waiting for this moment/video. Now wait for better batteries, or place a micro turbine electric generator inside. One thing though: I don’t like the video editing and music. The flight itself is amazing, and thus pasting bombastic music over it brings it down really. I want to hear the sound of the propellers and wind and everything else real. Keep it up and keep it real!

[@waldwolftv3222]

Supergeil ich verfolge euch schon eine weile und freue mich über jeden neuen Schritt nach vorne. Ich bin der Meinung , " ihr seid spitze " . Weiter so :-)

[@TehDMBfan]

Congrats on inventing the helicopter! Truly a revolution in urban mobility!

[@cubanexile39]

awesome DREAMCATCHER

[@Robb403]

It also makes loads of coleslaw in seconds. Turn it upside down and you can mow your yard in have the time. But, the battery still doesn't hold enough power to make it a practical flying vehicle.

[@valpro99]

From a active US Army Helicopter pilot--- great job. You are changing the way people fly.

[@CabrioDriving]

Finally! Congratulations!! Amazing!

[@antonnym214]

"Our fully-computerized fly-by-wire system makes Volocopter so easy to operate, even Gunther's mother could fly it." -- Hans Jergen

[@stevenunua2118]

It's a start... good luck. Much testing left to go.

[@EmanX140]

It's so epic! Congrats!

[@MrCBBBBC]

großes Kino - Hut ab. Fantastisch! Wünsche Euch viel Erfolg damit.

[@Paiadakine]

Congratulations. Big step in confidence. Best of luck to your project. I would trust this design over the Chinese leg chopper concept in the news earlier this year.

[@foadrightnow5725]

+Pay Way I concur!

[@LuvBorderCollies]

Looks safer than a conventional helicopter. Two thumbs up! Nice.

[@calfeggs]

Safer as long as the power delivery doesn't go offline. There's no auto rotation in this helicopter, but maybe a parachute is in order.

[@RetroglowSystems]

agreed, if the make something like this, auto rotation is very important for safety

[@Tomas-eb7qj]

Seems like not that big problem it can have some emergency parachute which will shoot when you accidentaly loose power.

[@calfeggs]

***** Because the individual propellers have a fixed pitch, and therefore cannot auto-rotate.

[@dekonfrost7]

Fist off has anyone here ever auto rotated in a helicopter with a failed engine? It's a myth it is strictly a theoretical and a fleeting possibility of using your decent to charge the main rotor with enough energy to change the pitch a few mo nets before a crash landing to lessen the impact of the fall. And almost never is employed

[@grahammcdonald]

Nice work! Can't wait to see how this evolves.

[@agsnrw]

Herzlichen Glückwunsch !!!!!!!!!!!!! Erstklassige Arbeit was Ihrda macht !!! SUUUPER

[@flexy456]

Cool, has potential! German engineering at its best :) Sehr nett!

[@aintn2it]

For all the people criticizing the lack of autorotation, you aren't understanding the principal of multi rotor redundancy. A helicopter has one huge rotor and associated drivetrain, which if any any component fails you're going down. This has 18 rotors. You could lose several and probably not even notice, as the stability system would automatically compensate. Autorotation is no longer needed. The motors are all wired separately, so a loss of more than one at a time is infinitesimally small. A total loss of overall system power is possible, I suppose, but with a properly designed parallel electrical distribution, would be about as likely as a main shaft failure or tail rotor malfunction on a conventional heli.

[@NQSquelsh]

Amazing! Congratulations on another huge step successfully taken!

[@KarlAlfredRoemer]

Erstaunlich und faszinierend, wie ruhig das Ding in der Luft liegt und wie scheinbar leicht es sich steuern lässt.

[@gektron]

Well done to the Volocopter team. Where others see ugly in the design I see beauty. I really do not understand the amount of negativity in the comments... This machine has far fewer complex moving parts than a helicopter, basically you've got the motors and the props. But why so many motors? It looks more complex but remember it actually isn't and you certainly need 8 or more for good redundancy. The only limiting factor are the batteries. Current technology means they are currently heavy, have short life spans and pose a potential fire hazard. But... surely battery technology is the future and these guys see it. I mean how much more oil have we actually got? At 50 years old, I'm at an age where I've seen many technologies scoffed at. Personal computers, mobile phones, the Internet to name a few. Early personal computer adopters were considered as nerds and early mobile phone adopters were laughed at in the street. Perhaps the current KZbin demographic find that hard to believe. But we still do it, and inventors always seem to be the target. Rant over :)

[@BartSubelack]

name of the song please?

[@JLOsborne]

Bravo!!! Excellent to both you and your team for all the hard work. I'd like to see you fly around the field next time, if you can do that. I just think it would be awesome to see.

[@dhansel4835]

I agree this is the beginning of transit commuter flight. There will be other models and designs but all I gotta say is WOW ! Keep up the good work !

[@taofledermaus]

Auto-rotation test next? ;)

[@MikeysRC]

+TAOFLEDERMAUS or ballistic parachute.

[@maximilianhecker3689]

Or putting it in a shotgun? :D

[@notimportant7508]

+TAOFLEDERMAUS Or put it in a shotgun shell?

[@Robonza]

+TAOFLEDERMAUS I think with a design like this you would have redundant systems so you can always land on less rotors than a full compliment. No need for auto rotation or chutes etc. Just back up independent motor controllers and battery banks than can be isolated..

[@WAJK2030]

+Robonza Actually yes! But they still added a parchute to it - just to be 110% safe.

[@bojaiden5175]

how many bird's got their heads chopped off for that test flight?

[@TheMusketITuckedIt204]

+Wole King Many, probably why it wasn't included in the official footage.

[@kjn3691]

+Wole King Two. But they were committing suicide. Life was fowl for them.

[@abvmoose87]

Thats awesome control he is rotating the whole craft in position around its axis by twisting the joystick, I love that!

[@JoshsRC]

Glückwunsch! Auf gehts die Luftfahrtindustrie zu revolutionieren!

[@janscott602]

Could it be fitted with a parachute for systems failure?

[@CraigMansfield]

+Jan Scott That's what I thought. It's great though innit?

[@Bastelopa_wie_mein_Channelname]

+Jan Scott The Volocopter is equipped with parachute and safety system with quick release

[@Paulivewire]

good point

[@JohnSmith-ut5th]

This was my idea like 20 years ago and everybody I talked to shot it down. It just goes to show, most people have no vision. If you are a person with real vision, and you know it, don't let people shoot down your dreams.

[@elementneon]

they were right to shoot your idea down 20 years ago. It wasn't until the last 10 years that multi-rotors/quad-copters gained the tech, traction, fan base and massive number of man hours put into programming and studying the science, mechanics and engineering behind that method of flight. If you wanted to take all of that on yourself you would be literally billions of dollars in the hole. And needless to say, you would not have seen profit.

[@JohnSmith-ut5th]

Bull. It could have been done 20 years ago. I was using matlab 20 years ago. We had the tools and computing power. Sure, for a bunch of crybaby spoiled gen-Y'ers it would take a team of 500 and 10 years of playing first-person shooters. Back then we did actual work and didn't bitch about putting in a little bit of overtime to get the job done.

[@elementneon]

+John Smith well clearly you didn't do actual work back then, or else you would have executed on your idea. Instead all you did was dream of it and never got off your butt to do anything. You left it to the crybaby spoiled gen-Y'ers to actually successfully accomplish the task. But I'm sure people believe you're the one with the "real vision" and not just some lazy KZbinr making excuses for why he didn't accomplish things.

[@JohnSmith-ut5th]

My point is, I could not get funding because investors have no vision.

[@TheMoGr]

Yeah, I gotta side with elementneon on this one. Brushless motor, flight controller, and most importantly battery technology required to lift this project off the ground (literally) did not exist 20 years ago. I don't care how much of a genius and a go-getter you claim to be, this project would have been impossible 20 years ago. The advent of cell phones/ smart phones gave way to the necessary technologies in battery systems and gyroscopes/accelerometers for flight controllers that are now used for both things like this and UAS devices. I wouldn't have funded you either.

[@hillearybrown7083]

Fantastic!! well done.

[@scopex2749]

WUNDERBAR!!!! Well done all technicians for a superb invention and first flight. PROSIT!!

[@marijuanas]

Very cool! But no helmet during your first manned flight? Damn that's some balls. Volocopter more liek Yolocopter.

[@AlexandrKovalenko]

+Jon P I think that helmet won't help if something will go wrong :)

[@charlesneely4008]

you cant explin nothing to a dumbass , soo fuck him if he died from head juries

[@GlenEdwards]

bk bk Getting in and out of the vehicle there is a high risk of bumping your head. But not on motorcycles... ironic.

[@gsp49]

Jon , people who refuse helmets do not have brains worth saving.

[@Mikeexteriorcleaning]

Jon or roflcopter

[@LawtonDigital]

Unlike a conventional helicopter, if he loses power, he's hosed without a parachute.

[@injunmick8498]

+Robert Lawton Yeah, and I was wondering how many rotor's it take's to keep it up. What if a bird fly's in and take's out a few?

[@timothy3507]

Ya there are so many backup rotors and he can just put on a parachute

[@MsSomeonenew]

That is why they have a parachute.

[@EdgardoValentinoDOlaes]

VERY GOOD! Many people will like riding it. Thanks for this.

[@user-zu7zw8lp3g]

Браво мајстори. Свака вам част. Поздрав из Београда.

[@DanielDanielsen]

..and the batteries last for?

[@CallumCarmicheal]

the average out of the box remote helicopter, so about 10-30 minutes and 9 year charge. Since safety is their first priority I am going to say at least no less than 6 hours as bear minimum but from what I can see I am taking a educated guess and say maybe 24-72 hours about that time frame, they mentioned in the port folio about it being used to carry heavy cargo and do rescue missions so I recon they are aiming from 1-3 days+ but I am just speculating. Take what I say with a pinch of salt but either way I am going to start saving because I want one for personal aviation, sounds like it would be really useful bypassing traffic ;)

[@alef2271]

lol

[@basil1562]

I don't think bears will want to fly. :-{ )

[@HRhitter420]

Basil Hilarious! Thank you!

[@NicB-Creations]

So what happens in you lose power? No way to autorotate this?

[@kenanmotors2218]

Parachute

[@NicB-Creations]

Good luck with that!

[@naderzargarelahi78]

the machine has a parachute

[@NicB-Creations]

Parashutes need some time to open properly. No use if your engine fails to low above the ground.

[@felipipi]

OMG you are a genius. Don't waste your time in KZbin.

[@MomberyMochi]

This is the most amazing flying craft I have ever seen!

[@thra5herxb12s]

Truly amazing. A model multirotor that you can get in and fly yourself.

[@GranVlog]

Cool indeed. btw. The cameraman should get a better lens. The chromatic aberration is through the roof.

[@s2kirl]

+GranVlog Yep while i was watch this amazing machine fly all i could concentrate on was the chromatic aberration thingy too....

[@biblecanard]

Besiege is really getting out of hands

[@sylperino]

Félicitations ! C'est un réel exploit, le début d'une grande aventure a n'en pas douter!

[@perfectivico]

Its amazing! I think that its a big step in development this science :) Congrats)

[@DaveMan50]

Ok, now turn half of the propellers over, mount them under the other half. Close the circle down in size and put a ballistic parachute on the roof. Then double the battery’s.

[@taavisalo]

Yolocopter

[@nyanator8110]

Yee

[@BrysonSenevira]

Man O Man that is so awesome... Congrats to you all

[@keithdrummond5607]

I want one. Hope you eventually make 'em family size, too! Yes! Congratulations all over the place!

[@IgWannA2]

I'm gonna need a bigger garage.

[@erschwinglich.myspreadshop]

they start and land on your House's Roof !

[@TheMusketITuckedIt204]

Too big, too bulky, too slow, too limited, too many rotors and propellers, too many ways I can see this thing malfunctioning in the air; onto the next flying contraption.

[@flyifri]

Well done guys....Keep up the great work ....!

[@pagandreams1]

looks like a trampoline turned into a multi rotor lol,fantastic aircraft and looks beautiful on the ground and such a graceful flyer when in the air,so stable an vibration free.well done :)

[@av8bvma513]

A helicopter can glide/autorotate. Anything goes wrong in this, you crash.

[@karesmith8141]

Not entirely true: The Volocopter has a BRS, a ballistic rescue system, which is a parachute propelled by a rocket. So at altitude, the BRS will rescue the entire aircraft, but at low altitude an emergency could be fatal. But all systems are duplicated, to try to mitigate that risk. My guess is that software bugs may be the biggest issue.

[@CallumCarmicheal]

+Kåre Smith #GitHub

[@elementneon]

Theoretically with a multi-rotor like this they could build in the redundancies and buffers necessary to maintain aloft and continued control over the system with the loss of a single rotor. If a helicopter loses the single rotor, you're dead.

[@GCOCommander]

I believe multi rotor copters compensate for lost rotors fairly well, the more rotors the better chance you can compensate for loss. You need at least a hexa copter to adjust for lost power in 1 rotor. Auto rotate will not work with this type of aircraft. You need variable pitch rotors in order to autorotate. On another note, these would be extremely practical in large cities where traffic is horrendous. I can imagine people flying into New York heliports from homes in NJ, or into San Francisco or more likely Silicon Valley from their homes 15 minutes away vs a 1hr drive in traffic. New Battery packs could extend the flight time, Tesla is now mass producing longer life packs which could be used in an aircraft like this. I think the Haters also have no clue about how expensive a standard helicopter is to maintain. You are looking at 10''s of thousands in maintenance fee's every year for even a small Robinson R-32. On the other hand electric motors are cheap, and require very little maintenance, they have far fewer moving parts. The multi rotor design allows the aircraft to be more easily controlled where a standard helicopter requires good coordination to maintain straight and level flight.

[@MrVeggis1964]

Allways haters...and now I am one of them... Don't..please don't ruin the vid with music! At least moderate 😂

[@JamesTalvy]

Omg this is awesome! Congrats!

[@gasturbine101]

Well done guys, inspiration for us all. How do the fixed pitch rotors work in forward flight? Is there a power saving and is there uneven loading?

[@userhds]

Can we PLEASE not have the GAWD AWFUL MUSIC.

[@rawdez_]

+Guesty GAWD DOESN'T EXIST. ENJOY.

[@vovatishNewsTech]

дурня полная

[@Tom-mh9bm]

That's a nice little helicopter.

[@AnthonyGalati]

CONGRATS.... that is awesome.!!!

[@themagicbush1208]

or just buy a helicopter

[@mendary3898]

i wonder if there will be a new kind of license to fly such a thing, as a helicopter licence is inafortable for normal people. that on is so easy to control, it should be ok to fly it with less than 500 exercising flight hours......

[@Local11-m9r]

Does not make sense and is not safe. A helicopter is WAY safer than that thing.

[@nikolayvyatkin]

+Anthony Scira they forgot about autorotation.

[@nikolayvyatkin]

+Anthony Scira Maybe the inventors are hoping for the absolute reliability of motors, but nothing is absolutely safe does not exist, so unusual and should be a backup system for the rescue in case of stopping the motors.

[@aintn2it]

+Anthony Scira Wrong. A helicopter has one huge rotor and associated drivetrain, which if any any component fails you're going down. This has 18 rotors. You could lose several and probably not even notice as the stability system would automatically compensate. Autorotation is no longer needed.

[@Local11-m9r]

+aintn2it Obviously you have no idea what you are talking about. It is best for you to stop now.

[@Local11-m9r]

+aintn2it Well to put it simply unless there are 18 batteries, or one for each motor you have zero redundancy so if there is a main electrical problem you are screwed.

[@toddmadeen]

Congratulations!!! I've been watching you since the beach ball of death:)

[@briankrzanich7449]

So impressed!!! congrats

[@YoSneeze]

I cringed every time he stuck his arm out :(

[@petezauw1921]

It's happening. It's here. And a passenger can ride too. Verrrrryyyyyy cool.

[@manumatzner75]

Schön durchgeführtes Projekt ! Wie Ihr wohl auf so eine geile Idee gekommen seid 😉.

[@youngstyler99]

Ich bin sprachlos... Einfach nur ein Traum;). Ich wünsche dir und der Firma Volocopter in der Zukunft, ganz viel Erfolg:). Viele grüße vum Pfälzer xD.

[@chrisspeicher1212]

This is fantastic. Big Fan of Your idea. Would love to know more!

[@mabuusa]

My congratulations! Great to hear how silent it is compared with a helicopter. Marcellus

[@themorganator]

CONGRATULATIONS! Wonderful achievement!

[@Coralita675]

Amazing I can imagine when the technology develops to see this in another 15/20 years. I hope I'm still around to line up to buy and fly this. Well done all for all humanity.

[@Vassilika1]

Sehr sehr cool, Bravo!!!

[@giovannivaresi]

these are guys who can change the world! respect.

[@HumanBeingSpawn]

giovanni varesi Lol. These guys? That's not even their idea. Recycled technology. It's been done before and there's nothing revolutionary here.

[@mectechman1]

Congrats! Well done.

[@FazerAcontecerFA]

Congratulations to the team; this is so impressive!

[@fpvleo2606]

Das habt ihr echt cool geregelt mit dem Kleinen mini Joystick am Steuer Knüppel für Schub :)

[@leandrodemedeirospassos8262]

Congratulations Engineers, amazing!!

[@JeromeDemers]

Congratulations!!

[@jsl151850b]

Congratulations on finally having a manned test. Looking forward to seeing other trials. Something on a course which would replicate the normal use. Take off, travel 10 miles at 50mph, land and repeat.

[@ivanvlasov8308]

Sehr gut!! Gratuliere!

[@Leontestedevorant]

Herzliche gratulation zum Volocopter Team Sie alle haben meine Bewunderung verdient !!!

[@JoseSilva-sd8oc]

Great News! Congrats! Great job!!

[@MechatronikWelt]

Nice to see You all....it's a big step!

[@oakalleyplantation]

OMG! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

[@ethanjohnston8194]

great work love flying blenders

[@BMaeva]

👍👍👍👍👍 more info .. pls... nice one guys... congratz..

[@mraidymaddful]

What an absolutely amazing thing. I bet the owner was so proud on that test day......