23 March 2017
VIDEO An all-electric, single-seat helicopter will give a demonstration flight at the AERO Friedrichshafen General Aviation show in April.
The French-designed and built Volta had its first manned flight last December at Castenaudry in south-west France, close to the area known as Aerospace Valley. The flight last 15 minutes (see video).
“We are building an all-electric helicopter. The atmospheric pollution is reduced to zero locally. The noise is reduced since there is no internal combustion anymore. And the maintenance cost is highly reduced, as the power chain is much simpler,” said the company.
“Volta is a conventional helicopter, with a main rotor and a variable blade pitch. Compared to drone-like helicopters with a variable spinning speed, Volta is more efficient, has auto-rotation capability, and is compatible with current airworthiness regulation. Volta builds upon decades of experience and experiments on vertical flight.
“We envision designing a two-seat versions for flight instruction. This mission would suit the planned 40 minutes autonomy.”
