Flight International - 04

Visit FlightGlobal Premium for all the latest aviation news and insight FlightGlobal.com
Upward trajectory
European urban air mobility developer Volocopter is targeting
a service launch for its first aircraft in Paris next year, with a
crucial certification phase ready to take off during July
Volocopter chief executive
Dirk Hoke is laser focused
on seeing his company
become the world’s first
true urban air mobility (UAM)
provider in 2024.
If all goes to plan, this will happen
by the Olympic Games in Paris next
summer, featuring the company’s
VoloCity electric vertical take-off
and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Hoke recently visited the European
Union Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) to ensure that plans for
VoloCity’s type certification are on
track – the model made its debut
flight in late 2021.
“We went through all the details
of the certification plan as we have
it right now, and EASA confirms
that we’re still on track,” Hoke told
FlightGlobal during a February visit
to Singapore.
His credentials are unique among
UAM leaders, having spent nearly
six years as chief executive of Airbus
Defence & Space.
Prior to that, he
held several leadership
roles at
German industrial
champion
Siemens.
For Hoke,
joining Volocopter
was a
unique opportunity
to be part
of a frontier
industry.
Volocopter
Greg Waldron Singapore
Asked about how running
the company differs from his
time at the helm of Airbus’s defence
unit, he immediately notes
their different sizes. Whereas in
his previous role he led around
40,000 employees, at Volocopter
his team numbers just 700. Still,
there are management challenges,
not least because of the company’s
rapid growth in the burgeoning
UAM environment.
“We have a big mix of young,
motivated and visionary people,
but also very experienced – and still
very motivated – people,” he says.
Diverse expertise
Volocopter is also diverse, with
60 nationalities represented. All
these different backgrounds and
experiences need to work together
as one team. During his first five
months in the job, Hoke says he
worked on strategic areas such as
staffing, processes, and how funds
are deployed.
Definitive signs of progress are
key. Hoke notes that Volocopter
has already achieved two core
milestones in aircraft development:
design, and production organisation
approvals. The next big
objective is achieving type certification
for the VoloCity.
Headline-grabbing order announcements
are not a priority.
Still, Hoke says it has booked orders,
and that demand actually far
outpaces supply.
“Is it important to have orders?”,
he asks rhetorically. “Or to deliver
to the market? My intention
is to keep to the important
milestones, and this is [gaining]
a type certificate and to go into
commercial operation. What do
you do with orders if you don’t
have a type certificate?”
Volocopter is producing a trio
of two-seat VoloCity platforms
that will be ready in the coming
months. From July these
aircraft will commence a gruelling
certification campaign. Initially
they will be flown with just a pilot
aboard, but a passenger will be
added by end-2023.
With 18 rotors, VoloCity derives
power from nine battery packs
that weigh in at 30kg (66lb) each.
These can be quickly swapped
in an out. Hoke says that batteries
powerful enough to power a
four-seater UAM vehicle will not
enter production until 2025, pending
deployment in 2026.
Taking advantage of improved
batteries, the year 2026 will see
the company’s VoloRegion eVTOL
aircraft enter service. Unlike the
multirotor VoloCity, the fiveseater
design – formerly branded
VoloConnect – is essentially a
light aircraft, with two large wings
optimised for longer flights. It will
take-off and land vertically using
six rotors, while a pair of ducted
fans provide forward thrust.
The VoloRegion is not designed
to operate short hops in cities, but
rather for longer flights, such as
from an airport to a distant suburb.
In addition to four passengers and
a pilot, there will be space for hand
luggage and suitcases.
Following a first flight in 2022,
a 90%-scale prototype of the
VoloRegion is undergoing testing,
including the critical transition
“My intention is to keep to the
important milestones, and this is
a type certificate and to go into
commercial operation”
Dirk Hoke Chief executive, Volocopter
Volocopter Volocopter
26 Flight International April 2023