Volocopter: autonomous and semi-autonomous electric helicopter

Volocopter announced a partnership with Intel this month. Here's a video of the version shown at CES, plus some actual flight footage and explanation of the flight control system, parachute, etc.

https://youtu.be/tODIvUmH6cs

When these things get enough range (and it will happen, eventually), I can't see many people making the effort to learn to fly a traditional plane, even to get into the back country.

What fun will that be?

That’s cool, but it’s not a backcountry vehicle. And personally I like the looks of some of the other drone-copters. Too many rotors to try to call them quad/octo or otherwise.


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What will happen when 'Coco' drops her lipstick into one of the rotor blades, or a hat flies through the mix of rotors?


Gonna be some high powered lawsuits when these come out of the sky with little jonny on board.

Splat!

aktango58 said:

What will happen when 'Coco' drops her lipstick into one of the rotor blades, or a hat flies through the mix of rotors?


Gonna be some high powered lawsuits when these come out of the sky with little jonny on board.

Click to expand...

In mid-town Manhattan during rush hour.

Just wait until the FAA gets their hands on it.

I think these are interesting but....... I still have not seen one that can do an auto rotation. Parachutes are nice but there is no guarantee of a safe landing. Think windmill farms and power lines. From an efficiency standpoint you will get WAY more mileage from a fixed wing aircraft for the watts used. The battery technology has a long way to go yet to truly produce something usable and as it gets there we will see more and more electric fixed wing aircraft.

I too have wondered about the auto rotation capabilities. Of course the pilots will never run one out of electricity, will they? :roll:

All the problems being pointed out are genuine, but are solvable using better batteries, redundancy, distributed power, ballistic parachute, etc.

My point is not that this prototype 'copter is ready to go today, but that the computerized controls ("a 5 year old can fly it") and wide speed range mean that there will be little incentive for people, particularly young people who grow up with them, to develop the skills needed to fly an actual airplane with wings, which takes dedication, money, and considerable effort. When that happens, there will be less of a market for airplanes, beginning a downward price-volume spiral. Entirely anecdotally, there already seems to be steep decline in young people getting into sport flying, around here anyway.

There is no question that technology has advanced far beyond what most of us have ever envisioned. Yet with each of these various versions of "drones" I have never seen any reference to being able to land with a total or partial power failure. No I do not consider a parachute to be the safest answer. Just look at the track record of the Cirrus airplanes which do have parachutes. There have been a lot of fatalities.

I’ll throw this out into the mix, just as fodder.

While I’m not of the generation with the mindset, I can see it in the youth, and that is this.
Today’s kids trust electronics. Implicitly.
While they understand battery life issues, they would simply believe they would land and recharge.

This goes with SJ’s thought process of needing to develop the skillset, dedication and effort - they don’t seem to have that drive or ambition, when they believe, and I mean truly believe, that this is an easier way. And they trust it.

Have a control issue? Let go and the drone stops, stabilizes, and holds a gps spot. They have the video game, Xbox, and communication skill set already. My son plays xbox an multiplayer game, while watching a YouTube video and talking with his friends on his iPad, all at the same time. Not something I’m proud of, but I feel like I’m my dad with the speed that he does this at.

I digress, as my point is the trust factor.

Another factor may be the viewpoint.
~ Fellow I know was looking for an airplane....and warranty was an important factor. Warranty? I guess that’s something I never would have considered. I see this as something the next gen will want.
~ The popularity of rental homes has gone up, instead of home ownership. No maintenance places. Just turn key living environments. Like a car lease perhaps. No love, just another tool for a purpose. Not for fun, more for simple and hassle free transportation. Driving is “just such a hassle”...

Lol.... god I hope not.



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