Drone taxi take first spin in air traffic near Paris

PARIS, Nov 10 (Reuters) – An electric helicopter with
multiple rotors took its first flight in conventional air
traffic near Paris on Thursday as it prepares for commercial
flights from 2024.

The Volocopter test aircraft, which resembles a large drone
with eight rotors, took off with a passenger on board from the
Pontoise-Cormeilles airfield outside Paris and briefly circled
around while other aircraft were in the vicinity.

German company Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke said that in the
next 18 months it will prepare its craft for certification and
said he hopes to launch short commercial flights by 2024, when
Paris holds the Summer Olympic Games.

The company wants its two-seater aircraft to eventually take
to the skies fully automated, with only passengers aboard, but
admits that a lot of work was still needed in terms of
infrastructure, airspace integration and public acceptance.

Test pilot Paul Stone said that the craft’s digital
fly-by-wire system and multiple rotors make it much easier to
fly than a traditional helicopter.

“In a helicopter, when you move one control, three things
happen, and it’s like patting your head and rubbing your tummy –
it’s a coordination exercise. In this aircraft, they take away
all that difficulty, and it’s very simple controls in each axis,
that’s what makes it easier to fly,” he said.

Valérie Pecresse, president of the Ile-de-France region
around Paris, said the region had provided financial support for
the initiative as she wants the first passenger flight in a
vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to take place here.

“The development of low-altitude aviation for urban air
mobility is an adventure full of promises,” she said in a
statement.

Volocopter is in a costly race with companies around the
world, including Lilium, Joby Aviation and
Airbus to have the first flying taxi certified by
regulators. It is aiming to achieve this in around two years.
(Reporting by Noemie Olive and Lucien Libert
Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Aurora Ellis)