The world's first air taxi will start delivering passengers next year

Despite the fact that land vehicles are becoming more and more perfect every year, this does not contribute in any way to solving the annoying problem of traffic jams. But the day is already near when fantastic films in which people move around the city by air will turn out to be prophetic. The German design company E-volo has announced that next year their brainchild — an aircraft called Volocopter 2X — will enter mass production and become the world's first certified air taxi.

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Source: N+1

Several companies are developing passenger drones capable of transporting a person at once. However, to date, only the Germans from E-volo have come close to overcoming the concept stage. In March last year, the company conducted the first manned flight of the Volocopter VC200 prototype. Now a serial model of an 18-rotor multicopter — Volocopter 2X - has been built on its basis.

Volocopter VC200.

This unit can be controlled by an operator from the ground, follow the route autonomously or be piloted from the cockpit. But due to legal restrictions, only the third option will be used at first. According to representatives of E-volo, regular operation of the Volocopter 2X will begin in Germany in 2018.

An empty multicopter weighs 290 kilograms and can take on board up to 160 kilograms of cargo or two people of medium build. With a maximum load, the aircraft is able to overpower 27 kilometers at a speed of 70 kilometers per hour or stay in the air for 27 minutes, but in this case the speed should not exceed 50 kilometers per hour.

The maximum speed of the device is 100 kilometers per hour, and the full battery charging time is just a little short of two hours.

The scale of serial production and the approximate price of the Volocopter 2X has not yet been officially announced. A few months ago, information leaked to the press that the drone would cost around 340 thousand dollars. But these are nothing more than rumors.

E-Volo claims that any owner of a sports flight license will be able to drive such a taxi in Germany. The next step of the company will be the development of a multicopter for four seats.