Volocopter

Volocopter's ambitions in the flying taxi space have taken another step forward, with the startup's electric aircraft performing its first crewed flight in South Korea as the country eyes a proper lift-off for a commercial air taxi service in 2025.

Better known for its work developing 18-rotor flying taxis, Volocopter is adapting its expertise in electric aviation for the purposes of moving heavy cargo, and its giant VoloDrone has now completed its very first public flight.

As it aggressively pursues a future where flying taxis carry people and cargo between busy urban centers, German aviation startup Volocopter has ticked off an important milestone, making a public demo flight in the USA with a pilot on board.

Volocopter has added to its suite of futuristic air taxis with a fixed-wing version designed to carry more people across greater distances, offering more seats and greater range than its previous all-electric aircraft.

Hundreds of eVTOL companies are jostling for position as next-gen flying taxis approach their prime-time debut – but which of these futuristic aircraft will really take off? Sergio Cecutta talks us through his "Advanced Air Mobility Reality Index."

Germany's Volocopter has committed to launching commercial eVTOL flights in Singapore "within the next two to three years," and advance tickets have already sold out to early adopters eager to take the first joyrides in this electric air taxi.

A feasibility study modeled on the VoloCity multirotor electric air taxi has concluded that electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft would benefit emergency air rescue services. Now the project is looking to begin operational testing in 2023.

Paris Region, ADP and RATP are eyeing the development of an urban air mobility branch ahead of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, and have joined forces with German air taxi startup Volocopter to make it happen.

Having tested out its aircraft in Dubai, Singapore, Helsinki and Germany, Volocopter is now turning its attention to Japan through a new agreement with Japan Airlines, and is preparing for a commercial launch in the country within a few years.

As part of plans to establish a flying taxi service in the region, and ultimately across the world, Volocopter has joined with ridesharing company Grab on a new feasibility study to uncover high-potential routes between megacities in Southeast Asia.

Having introduced a massive heavy-lift drone at the end of October, Volocopter is now looking to show what the aircraft can do through a new partnership with John Deere, with the two developing a version customized for spraying crops.

Announced today, the Volodrone is cut from the same cloth as Volocopter's electric passenger aircraft that sports 18 rotors and is electric-powered, but sports an attachment system underneath to carry heavy loads of all shapes and sizes.