Helicopter flying has been compared to patting your stomach while rubbing your head, something few manage well, if at all. Imagine trying to not only keep the rudder pedals, cyclic and collective under control but also fiddling with 18 throttles. Even a conventional helicopter is a handful with one engine or motor. Maintaining level flight with multiple lifting points at different points around the central fuselage would add to that level of difficulty beyond most people’s mental processing levels. Luckily, someone at Volocopter has worked out a very clever and quick-witted set of algorithms to take the stress out of that high-risk conundrum, as proven by company CEO Alex Zosel’s recent flight – single-handed and even briefly hands-off. Heike Blödorn, …
