According to its makers, “e-volo’s Volocopter is a revolution in aviation made in Germany. Safer, simpler, and cleaner than normal helicopters, it has a unique way of moving – a groundbreaking innovation. The Volocopter is an environmentally friendly and emission-free private helicopter. Instead of one combustion engine, eighteen electrically driven rotors propel it.” Alexander Zosel, managing director of e-volo, says that the VC200’s maiden flight and first test flights in the dm-arena in Karlsruhe, Germany on November 17 are precursors of coming production models. “There are already numerous requests for the Volocopter from around the world,” he added. The two-seat vehicle made several flights lasting several minutes each, climbing within the gymnasium but not presenting any danger to hanging lights in the 22 meter (71.7 feet) high enclosure. Notably, it did not carry pilot or passenger, but received commands from a radio-control transmitter managed by Daniel Gurdan and Jan Stumpf, two of Ascending Technologies‘ CEOs. Designed from the start as …
Kickstart Kicks John McGinnis to Announce New Goals
A few minutes ago, John McGinnis, designer and ongoing builder of Synergy, released the following announcement. It is based on the 385 supporters who have contributed 81 percent of the initial $65,000 goal to complete the first phase of construction on this envelope-exploding aircraft. “We are thrilled to report that Synergy is on track to become the first crowdfunded aircraft of the Internet era. Thank you to all contributors, large and small. You have really gotten behind us and the power of your enthusiasm is both contagious and humbling. “What does this mean? Well, unless something goes terribly wrong (and it could, we’re not funded yet) it looks like there is support for us to complete this phase of our construction, getting the landing gear on and the engine powered up. “That’s not quite the same as finished. If we don’t raise our minimum, we get nothing, so deciding where our project goal should be was a big deal. Now …