Electric two-seater Volocopter is tested in Germany (w/ Video)
(Phys.org) —The flying machine looks something like a helicopter but it is quite different and is intended to be a future answer to the greening of noisy, vibration-heavy helicopters as we have known them. A two-seater prototype of the Volocopter, by the company e-volo, made its maiden voyage earlier this month in Karlsruhe, Germany. The team used a prototype of the two-person VC200. Based on this model, it will be prepared for series production. Billed by its makers as "the world's first green helicopter," the emission-free Volocopter is a vertical take-off and landing manned aircraft, with features that set it apart from conventional aircraft. For one, the machine, instead of being kitted out with one combustion engine, carries eighteen electrically driven rotors to propel it. Through the propellers, the Volocopter can take off and land vertically just as does a helicopter. The team responsible for the machine said the...