Volocopter has completed a crewed test flight at the Aerodrome of Saint-Cyr-l’École, the first bespoke commercial vertiport for eVTOL integrated within the company’s approved flights routes in Paris.
This flight initiated the eVTOL operational validation phase, a critical step to making electric flights a norm in the city and beyond. The commencement of this phase holds immense significance for the entire Innovative Air Mobility (IAM) industry, as it will generate practical knowledge for integrating eVTOLs in vertiports and airspaces in megacities worldwide.
The crewed Volocopter aircraft took flight from the inaugurated vertiport of the Aerodrome of Saint-Cyr-l’Ecole, built by Groupe ADP, the company’s longstanding Parisian partner. With this flight, the partners begin their operational validation phase, a pre-commercial test series to mature the eVTOL ecosystem in France. This includes flight maneuvers to and from the vertiport, ground handling, communication with air traffic control, and battery charging and management at vertiports. Validation testing at an eVTOL-bespoke and route-approved location in Saint-Cyr-l’École will give Volocopter a unique advantage in gathering first-hand data on improving its aircraft operations.
This achievement results from over three years of collaborative efforts between Volocopter and Groupe ADP to advance multiple regulatory approvals on infrastructure and aircraft. This includes Volocopter’s advisory role involvement as the industry pioneer in the European eVTOL certification program, airspace operations, and infrastructure design influencing the development of the ready-to-operate St. Cyr vertiport brought to fruition by Groupe ADP.
Dirk Hoke, Volocopter CEO, said; “Everyone at Volocopter is incredibly proud of how far the company has come and what it means to fly today at Saint-Cyr-l’École. City launches take time to establish a foothold on the ground, and through open communication and dedication, Volocopter has become an embodiment of trust, from our partners, Europe’s leading aviation authorities, and Paris which has become one of the most advanced IAM networks in the world.”
Hoke continued; “We still aspire to fly at the Austerlitz vertiport later this year. Beyond that, we concentrate on the Type Certification of the VoloCity and will start the test phase of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Germany together with our partner ADAC Luftrettung in 2025.”
Edward Arkwright, Groupe ADP Deputy CEO, said; “We achieved our objective to fly in Ile-de-France during this exceptional summer. We also met the goal to deliver the first vertiport network, with the launch of the one in Saint-Cyr L’Ecole, which completes our network in Ile-de-France (alongside Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Le Bourget, Paris-Issy les Moulineaux, Pontoise). For now, test flights are carried out without passengers, but once the aircraft is certified, we will test emergency medical flights with AP-HP (Ile-de-France University Hospital Centre). Innovation in the field of aeronautics needs time to remove obstacles regarding safety, but we remain convinced that new carbon-free air mobilities around eVTOLs will offer helpful services that go way beyond the transportation of passenger.”
For this flight test campaign, the company was granted a permit to fly with support from the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC), prior to receiving a Type Certification (TC) from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
