September 14 will stand for aviation history in Europe as the first-day people could see, an air taxi flying. This is what happened this Saturday in Stuttgart, Germany, next to the Mercedes museum.
The Volocopter air taxi flew over the site and has also attracted big-name investors such as Daimler. The 18 rotor aircraft was in the air for around 15 minutes. This short demonstration flight is a new breakthrough after a series of test flights.
This flight took place as part of a two-day Vision Smart City event that explores the future of transportation with a focus on research projects at the University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart. This includes exploring autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and more environmentally friendly modes of transportation, including Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz.
“Our Volocopter air taxis open up a completely new dimension in urban mobility. As Stuttgart has seen today, they fly safely, quietly, and are fast approaching the implementation stage. Volocopter air taxis are able to ease traffic congestion in major cities around the world, also here in Germany,” said Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter GmbH.
Despite having secured investment of two heavyweights, the German manufacturer will face strong competition. The world of air taxis is seen by many as a way of solving the traffic problem in big cities, and there are more and more companies looking to be the first to provide such services.
