First public flight
Volocopter's cargo drone takes off
Volocopter's electric heavy-lift drone VoloDrone successfully performed its first public flight at the ITS World Congress 2021 on October 12. In collaboration with logistics service provider DB Schenker, Volocopter demonstrated the integration of the VoloDrone into logistics supply chains with an end-to-end freight transportation demonstration. The partners demonstrated the progress they have made together since DB Schenker became a strategic investor in Volocopter at the beginning of 2020.
The three-minute test flight took off from homePort Hamburg at 15:02 and reached a maximum altitude of 22 meters. For the logistics simulation, the electric cargo drone was equipped with a loading box between the landing frame. The ground team first loaded this with a load the size of a Euro pallet. The drone then completed a smooth take-off. The aircraft then transported the cargo to a DB Schenker Cargo Bike. After the VoloDrone landed safely and the delivery was successfully completed, the cargo bike took the shipment to its final destination, completing the fully electric, multimodal last-mile delivery.
"This first public VoloDrone flight is testament to Volocopter's leading position in the UAM (Urban Air Mobility) industry. We are the only UAM company developing solutions for passengers and goods and demonstrating them in public flights worldwide," says Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter. "Our VoloDrone will make existing logistics processes more robust, efficient and sustainable. DB Schenker is a valuable partner in realizing the enormous application potential of our VoloDrone in the logistics sector."
Erik Wirsing, Vice President Global Innovation at DB Schenker, comments: "Today's VoloDrone flight is public proof of our successful collaboration. DB Schenker is making impressive progress on its roadmap for innovation and sustainability towards cleaner logistics. We want to rethink global supply chains and take transportation logistics to the next dimension for our customers while reducing emissions. Volocopter has once again shown that they are the ideal partner for DB Schenker."
The VoloDrone is an unmanned, all-electric cargo drone designed to transport ISO pallets of all sizes weighing up to 200 kilograms over a range of 40 kilometers. This electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) is designed for versatile operations in various industries.
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