PR96363

BENTONVILLE, Arkansas and BRUCHSAL, Germany, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

- VoloConnect expands the total addressable market for Volocopter's family of

eVTOL aircraft to USD 290 billion

- Zero operating emissions for safe and sustainable flight speeds of over 155

mph and >60 mi range

Today at the UP.Summit, an annual gathering of leaders in transportation

innovation, urban air mobility (UAM) pioneer Volocopter announced that it has

achieved another milestone to bring UAM to life: its fixed-winged passenger

aircraft, the VoloConnect [ https://www.volocopter.com/solutions/voloconnect/

], completed its first flight in May 2022. This accomplishment makes Volocopter

the only eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft) developer

worldwide to have an entire fleet of distinct aircraft configurations

undergoing flight tests.

Volocopter's third product solution, the VoloConnect, offers further and faster

journeys than any other Volocopter aircraft to date, with a range of over 60 mi

and flight speeds above 155 mph. The passenger plane's extended range and

higher payload will bring business travelers and commuters beyond the city

center on routes like Burbank to Huntington Beach in Los Angeles, CA. With the

VoloCity and VoloConnect air taxi designs fulfilling demands for metropolitan

flights and suburban connections in densely populated regions respectively,

Volocopter is ready to serve a broader range of passengers' flight needs. The

VoloConnect is targeting a 2026 entry into service, while the VoloCity is

targeting commercial launch in 2024.

"Having a whole family of electric aircraft in the test flight phase is a

pioneering feat," said Florian Reuter, Volocopter CEO. "Volocopter's leadership

in the industry stems from announcing plans and then delivering on them visibly

with public test flights. Our technology platform is the foundation for our

family of aircraft approach and has proven to deliver results at an astounding

speed. Volocopter is bringing these innovative designs off the ground, into the

air, and then to cities worldwide!"

A dedicated team in Munich, led by Sebastian Mores, Chief Engineer,

VoloConnect, is responsible for this success to bring the VoloConnect prototype

to life. "This is an extraordinary moment for us – seeing the VoloConnect soar

to the sky marks the achievement of one of our key milestones and demonstrates

just what we are capable of in a short time and in line with the company's

overall strategy for crewed and uncrewed aircraft. Furthermore, new

technologies will be tested that will gradually be implemented during the

overall program development," said Mores.

Volocopter designed the VoloConnect and its other eVTOL aircraft to meet the

highest aviation safety standards according to EASA (European Aviation Safety

Agency). The prototype completed its first flight in May 2022 after just 17

months in the making and performed a few maneuvers for 2 minutes and 14 seconds

during its first flight. The prototype has all the planned aerodynamics and

performance features of the future commercial product.

The VoloConnect is a lift-and-cruise aircraft optimized for missions beyond the

urban and suburban space. Keeping moving parts to a minimum, its six rotors

facilitate vertical takeoff, while two electric fans in combination with

uplift-creating wings ensure high forward speeds. Its prototype is currently

passing a demanding series of flight tests to verify that the aircraft and its

systems are in line with performance limits and prepared for the subsequent

development. This phase encompasses  low-speed, transition, high-speed, and

engine failure testing for automated and later autonomous flights – all

standard-issue tests for eVTOL passenger aircraft manufacturers. Within the

first three test flights of this campaign, the team was able to verify a

significant portion of the eVTOL's envelope with forward speeds up to 40 mph

and 28 mph sideward flight speeds during tests.

VoloConnect is poised to boost Volocopter's total addressable UAM market,

alongside its existing aircraft family members, the VoloDrone [

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULyUOC5hciM ] and VoloCity [

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YIMYonz2b4 ]. The technological differences

between the VoloCity and VoloConnect passenger aircraft abound. Important to

note are their unique designs for their specific flight missions, with the

multirotor VoloCity air taxi poised to serve intracity routes, while its larger

lift-and-cruise sibling will focus on longer urban and suburban missions.

About Volocopter

Volocopter is building the world's first sustainable and scalable urban air

mobility business to bring affordable air taxi services for goods and people to

megacities worldwide. Volocopter leads and cooperates with partners in

infrastructure, operations, and air traffic management to build the ecosystem

necessary to 'Bring Urban Air Mobility to Life'. With over 500 employees in

offices in Bruchsal, Munich, and Singapore., Volocopter has raised $579 million

in equity from investors including Geely, WP Investment, Mercedes-Benz Group,

Intel Capital, and BlackRock.. www.volocopter.com　

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1833845/Volocopter.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1626551/Volocopter_Logo.jpg

Source: Volocopter